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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 11, 2015 - 01:00pm PT
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Largo,
I was reading your wiki page. Who put it together?
The part that irritated me was this quote, which I disagree with:
While Long and the Stonemasters branched out into diverse disciplines including caving, river running and first descents, extreme skiing, big wave surfing, trans-continental traverses, BASE jumping and Himalaya alpine climbing,
Which Stonemaster took up BASE jumping? I think that Randy Leavitt was the first climber to get a BASE number, followed by Rob Slater, Tom Cosgriff, Jon Bowlin, Will Oxx, and me. Are any of them Stonemasters?
I was the first climber to go whacko over BASE, quit climbing and did it full time. Will Oxx would have, but he had to do a tour in the Air Force, after which he put the rest of us to shame and did many firsts. I hadn't heard much about the stonemasters back then, before you began writing about them. I damn sure didn't start BASE because of them. Where did they influence it? I was there for the early days of BASE and climbers were a small part of the mix for nigh 20 years. Now it is fairly common.
I remember one night where we needed a ride up to Glacier Point. I asked Kauk, who wisely refused (it would have made it hard for him to stay in the valley if he was busted with us). He got some Spaniards to drop us off.
You guys did get me into soloing. I watched you guys running laps on the ski tracks and started soloing myself on easier stuff.
I would love to read the book, but finding a copy is like finding diamonds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Long_(climber);
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jan 11, 2015 - 04:42pm PT
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^^^ that's a good point there.
But;
DNA manipulation has already changed the way we grow crops. It is only a matter of time before we start building better humans.
Don't you find it queer the effects these GMO's are having on the bugs and animals eating these foods? Like causing animals to become sterile, and changing the structures of organs, and so on?
But i guess Science has to fuc up some gineepigs before they can build better humans?
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WBraun
climber
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Jan 11, 2015 - 05:03pm PT
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Which Stonemaster took up BASE jumping?
One night Yabo was on acid and told me he's ready to base jump.
He didn't own a rig though.
He said didn't need one ...... :-)
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jan 11, 2015 - 05:25pm PT
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http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6181/319.full
Science 18 April 2014:
Vol. 344 no. 6181 pp. 319-324
DOI: 10.1126/science.1249766
REPORT
Distinct Profiles of Myelin Distribution Along Single Axons of Pyramidal Neurons in the Neocortex
Giulio Srubek Tomassy, Daniel R. Berger, Hsu-Hsin Chen, Narayanan Kasthuri, Kenneth J. Hayworth, Alessandro Vercelli, H. Sebastian Seung, Jeff W. Lichtman, Paola Arlotta
Abstract:
Myelin is a defining feature of the vertebrate nervous system. Variability in the thickness of the myelin envelope is a structural feature affecting the conduction of neuronal signals. Conversely, the distribution of myelinated tracts along the length of axons has been assumed to be uniform. Here, we traced high-throughput electron microscopy reconstructions of single axons of pyramidal neurons in the mouse neocortex and built high-resolution maps of myelination. We find that individual neurons have distinct longitudinal distribution of myelin. Neurons in the superficial layers displayed the most diversified profiles, including a new pattern where myelinated segments are interspersed with long, unmyelinated tracts. Our data indicate that the profile of longitudinal distribution of myelin is an integral feature of neuronal identity and may have evolved as a strategy to modulate long-distance communication in the neocortex.
...
Here, we describe myelin distribution along single axons in the murine brain. We demonstrate that pyramidal neurons of different neocortical layers present signature profiles of myelination, which indicates that longitudinal myelin deposition is a defining feature of each neuron. This contributes to the emergence of a myelin gradient that reflects idiosyncratic interactions between pyramidal neurons and oligodendrocytes.
Although the functional significance of these heterogeneous profiles of myelination awaits future elucidation, we propose that it may have served the evolutionary expansion and diversification of the neocortex by enabling the generation of different arrays of communication mechanisms and the emergence of highly complex neuronal behaviors.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jan 11, 2015 - 06:57pm PT
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BASE, I think those wiki pages are cobbled together by anyone who wants to add sh#t. I didn't have anyone make it, nor have I ever read it. Maybe now I should.
Randy L. was a Stonemaste from way back. Now he's charging big waves.
Nice articles, Ed.
JL
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jan 11, 2015 - 09:06pm PT
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Although the functional significance of these heterogeneous profiles of myelination awaits future elucidation, we propose that it may have served the evolutionary expansion and diversification of the neocortex by enabling the generation of different arrays of communication mechanisms and the emergence of highly complex neuronal behaviors.
This seems like it could be a leap?
why couldn't the myelination be the growth of our memories to 'meat'?
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jan 11, 2015 - 09:18pm PT
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^^^didn't take Sciencedaily for me to know that.
jus say'in
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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Jan 11, 2015 - 09:32pm PT
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BB:
You personally knowing something is not the same as scientific experiments , otherwise we can just forget science and show up at your doorstep for the answers.
What if we get your address mixed up with the Institute of MentalPhysics ? Then where would human knowledge be?
Ever done that route , MentalPhysics?
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jan 11, 2015 - 09:42pm PT
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i know! but somethings that are jus naturally obvious that many just don't get, this the direction of my pointing finger..
edit,
Institute of MentalPhysics ?
Frank LoydWright? then why is their steeple crook'ed? bugs me as a Builder every time i drive by! But i Love their hottub!
and we did do MentalPhysics a year or more ago. For my ompteeenth time i trailed my then 7yro daughter up it! She was only bummed about the approach. And she cried on the lower. but she said the climbing was the best thusfar! That's a Girl for ya!
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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Jan 11, 2015 - 10:12pm PT
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My 67 Chevy Chevelle Malibu broke down momentarily out in front of the Institute of MentalPhysics several years ago. As I was working on getting it started again my attention was mysteriously drawn to a row of what looked like short Tamarisks saplings growing nearby. I immediately noticed a gentleman dressed in flowing robes passing by on the other side of these tamarisks. As he emerged from behind them I was eerily astonished to see that his feet didn't seem to be in contact with the ground. He was floating along like Count Dracula, and totally unconcerned that I was nearby watching him.
True story.
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jan 11, 2015 - 10:23pm PT
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^^^ that was Frank!
we've had discussions concerning the upkeep of the buildings. He's pissed at his son. Ssshhhh!
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 12, 2015 - 07:20am PT
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I didn't think or even say that you put that wiki page up. However, if Randy was a Stonemaster, then he did indirectly inspire me to try it. He got Slater into it, who got Cosgriff into it, and Cosgriff jumped right over me on Mescalito. Changed my life.....
I wasn't calling YOU out on it. I stumbled on it while googling something else.
Still, climbers were influenced by the jumpers, not the other way around. I know because I was there. The big influences were Carl, Phil Smith, and Mark Hewitt. I have two great stories about saving Phil and Mark from the rangers. Werner saved me on one of those occasions.
I know that you were filming when Carl died, which was a huge shock. He accomplished a lot in a few short years. He scoured the world and opened a huge number of sites, despite dying with less than a hundred jumps. There is a documentary about him that has been winning awards this year. It is called "Sunshine Superman."
Back to the grind. Sorry for going off topic.
Largo wants everyone to go do a one week meditation retreat. I want all of you to go try a BASE jump.
Mentally the most amazing experience of my life. Incredible fear turns to pure clarity. I don't know why it feels that way, but it does. For some anyway. Eventually it gets a little boring, like most things.
Experience is my religion. I've done so much crazy stuff that even my wife doesn't know the whole story. I just don't feel right without it.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 12, 2015 - 09:11am PT
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So if we don't believe there is a god, does that leave us with bald nihilism? People don't like that word, but science has stripped away so much superstition in the last 50 years. Sure, you can ignore it and continue with your superstitious ways, but religion now stands on a very narrow edge.
What is left? Is there no fundamental meaning to existence other than being elaborate vessels, whose sole biologic purpose is to pass on our genetic material?
We are probably the only species who has the ability to reason on a deep level. If you examine pure reason, religion falls away. It is the reason that the spiritual feel so threatened by science.
Morals? Are they now artificial laws that we all agree are good for each other?
That is one reason that I am uneasy about atheism. Religion, even if it is false, has worked as a mechanistic framework for basic morality. Strip that away and you are left with Mistah Kurtz.
There is a way forward that includes "human meaning," but right now we are on uneasy ground. I have nothing to offer. Just concern.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jan 12, 2015 - 09:42am PT
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I am not concerned that people do a one week meditation. Any more than I am concerned hat they go bouldering at Rotary Park. But if you want to make sense out of what meditation is, since it is experience-based, then you need to have a taste.
The mistake most people make is in thinking a meditation retreat is a religious ritual, when in fact most all retreats in America are secular having nothing to do with beliefs or faith or "Gods." A meditation retreat might be looked on as a chance to look at your own process interrupted and with few distractions is a safe and quiet place.
Or you can go do Renzai retreat and get your ass kicked.
Many flavors because tastes differ.
And the Science of Mentalphysics used to have all kinds of wonderfully hokey stuff out there. Like a mini-Cheops pyramid. And how about the Integratron. I've always loved this woo stuff as a kind of Sci-Fi narrative, but I never confused this with having something to do with introspection.
JL
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jan 12, 2015 - 09:43am PT
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Well, I am talkative and it seems quiet in here.
One night Yabo was on acid and told me he's ready to base jump
Werner, one time I was going to jump El Cap on blotto.
It takes a good hour to take effect, and I wimped out before hand. I did stick the hit in my sock, and stuck it under my tongue the SECOND that I hit the ground. Before I even started running.
It was a cool day. I had jumping in the valley down and was never even chased. By the time I got back to the cafeteria I was blazing. That, along with the buzz of the jump totally tripped me out. I met the gang at the cafeteria and Walt and Fish made fun of me, because they knew what I had just done.
I ended up laying around El Cap meadow all day playing in the grass. Imagine it....
My logic on dropping the hit was that if I was caught, it wouldn't bother me for 10 to 12 hours.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Jan 12, 2015 - 09:47am PT
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I'm with you base. I've just started a book called Religion without God which is written by a naturalist. I'll let everyone know what it says once I get further into it.
Right now I am spending 12 hours a day trying to get material together for an online course on Human Evolution. I just got a comment from one of my students that when she took high school biology, her teacher who was very religious, and refused to even discuss the chapter on human evolution. So there we are, and people wonder why the public denies evolution?!
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