Chris finally made it up to Seattle after an epic train journey from Portland in the middle of the worst winter storm in 13 years. We celebrated with a late night of Settlers, Wild Turkey, and homemade pizza ('cause the takeout place was closed). Hoping to squeeze in some skiing Sunday and a trip to the climbing gym tomorrow.

Ben Karlin, the executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, left his job for unknown reasons last week (NYTimes story). This is not terribly interesting news, but the reason that the president of Comedy Central gave for Mr. Karlin's departure struck me as fairly ridiculous:

[...]Mr. Karlin’s main motivation appeared to be a desire to pull back from the grueling pace that he has kept up for more than seven years. “Ben has been doing this a long time,” [the president] said. “It’s a grind. Four nights a week. Forty-some odd weeks a year.”

Hm. Three-day weekends every week, plus at least three weeks of vacation every year. Yeah, a real grind. I must be missing something here.

Normally I exert steely-eyed control over the food in my mouth, but today I made the mistake of eating a lovely chicken breakfast sausage while watching the "scrabble" episode of The Show with Ze Frank. I spontaneously sprayed meaty bits all over my computer screen.

I'm nervously anticipating taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test on December 3. Ever since college, I've really missed taking tests. You know, sitting in a room filled with oppressive enforced quiet, hunched over a desk, frantically scribbling hour after hour until brain and fingers go numb.

I have reasons other than mental masochism, however. Taking the JLPT is motivating me to keep up my study of Japanese by giving me a concrete goal. I'm taking the easiest test, Level 4 (of four), only 100 minutes long. It's a long road to fluency, but if I keep setting small goals, perhaps I'll be able to confidently say "I speak Japanese" by the time I'm 40. I'll always be a gaijin, but I have dreams of living and working in Japan someday, or at least traveling there again.

There's something to be said for embracing the seasons and the natural changes that accompany them. Each season embodies a certain set of qualities that, if you let them in to your own life, cultivate healthy cyclical change in your attitudes, habits, and spirit.

At least that's what Acupuncture Betsy would say. I just know it's pumpkin beer season.

Living in Seattle, there are numerous pumpkin brews in the grocery stores to choose from when the leaves start turning, and I've tried a handful. Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale is the best, with an assertive spicy aroma, satisfying but mellow body, and a smooth, lingering finish.

Of course, you might want something to eat with your beer. I recommend chicken enchiladas with pumpkin sauce. Betsy added a bit of brown sugar to the sauce and mixed spinach with the chicken, to delicious effect. Follow that with some pumpkin ice cream, if you can find it. I'm not responsible if you begin to resemble a squat, round gourd after such a meal.

AlpineDave and I did a little exploratory climbing last weekend among the beautiful fall colors. Here's Dave coming up the steep and excellent first pitch:

If you think nuclear weapons are scary, just wait until North Korea gets its hands on a DSL connection.

They will bring the international network to its knees!

The 2006 issue (#3) of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal has just been published online.

The mission of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal is to be an edited, permanent, annual record of mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest. The journal documents the events, people, history and spirit of climbing and other mountain sports in this region.

I think this is our best issue yet, with some excellent full-length articles contributed by volunteers and great photos.

Donald Rumsfeld leads off on the new war message from the Bush White House in a speech at the American Legion Convention (excerpts and MSNBC analysis, video). The central idea: the war on terror is now the war on Islamic fascism. Those who oppose the Iraq war are the Neville Chamberlains of our day, according to the Defense Secretary, and suffer from "moral or intellectual confusion" that weakens our nation's ability to "persevere".

In a virtuoso demonstration of how to rip a new one, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC disputes Rumsfeld's condescending premise and turns his invocation of the fascist threat right back around at its conjurer.

Climbed Forbidden Peak's North Ridge last weekend. It's a long, easy rock climb with an approach over a ridge and across a glacier, one of the most fun routes I've climbed.

More photos here.