Even in the animal world, somebody has to shovel the sidewalk.

Susan is a handywoman who shovels snow and then weeds for $100/hr.

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Actually, the (wikipedia) link in my first comment says that the phrase "call a spade a spade" was created from a (mis)translation of ancient Greek. The original Greek apparently said "calling a fig a fig, and a trough a trough", but the trough became a spade (shovel) and the fig got dropped.

The word "spade" by itself being used as a slur probably does come from playing cards ("black as the ace of spades"). Wikipedia says that (racist) definition was first included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928.

I guess that "call a spade a spade" fell out of popularity a bit because people were concerned that it might be assumed that the use of "spade" was meant in a racist way, even though it wasn't originally. But now I think maybe most people don't know the usage of "spade" as a slur, so the other phrase is becoming more acceptable again? I had never heard "spade" used as a slur before talking to a friend from the UK.


...And even though I'm OK with "call a spade a spade", or even a lot of the more blatant pushing the limits that comedians like Seinfeld, Chris Rock, etc. do, I do think that there is a point where you have to realize you're just asking for trouble. I remember a while back, some politician got into hot water for (technically correctly) using the word "niggardly" to mean "stingy" or "cheap". That *is* correct usage, and the origin is entirely disconnected from the similar-sounding slur.

BUT, you pretty much *have* to expect that people are going to jump to the other conclusion, so I think it is reasonable/best for people under public scrutiny (politicians, etc.) to avoid the word. On the other hand, if Seinfeld or Chris Rock wanted to work that into a bit that exposed our ignorance of the correct/original definition for comedic effect, I think that would be a good thing. And potentially funny.

You never studied your Holy Homework.

That's TWO capital H's there. All the rest are lowercase in any fucking case.

Supreme court? You are NOT the fucking supreme court of anything, except hell!

For the next 10,000 years you will shovel your shit and eat it because you're on repeat motherfucker and it just started backwards and you can't do a fucking thing about it.

The public are gonna take back every fucking thing that you took away from them YOU MOTHERFUCKER.


I can't nail it down to just one favorite. This is the album that makes me most angry at Bradley for killing himself and depriving us of more ridiculous brilliance.

At least their Chinese lies are more transparent. ... to a foreigner. I imagine the same can be said for all the BS the American government shovels.

So as a relative newcomer* to the backcountry, here's my $0.02:

They were incredibly lucky.

Going into a gully like that after a snow storm is a "terrain trap" where even a small slide can accumulate very deep snow. Getting buried under 2-3m is bad, but 10m+? Unless you have the world snow shoveling champion team in your party, you're dead.

Good on them for carrying shovels and probes, but where were their transceivers? The article states that the victim had his transceiver with him but the others didn't. A single transceiver is about as useful as a prick in a nunnery.

The only reason that guy is alive is he managed to stick his ski pole above the snow. Without that, by the time they find him, they're not rescuing him, they're recovering the body.

Most importantly, they knew it was a sketchy line and they went anyway (and altogether.... jesus.... spread the fuck out... no-one gonna rescue you if you're all buried).

Right there, that's the fatal mistake. I know guys who have hiked for 6 hours to get to a run, looked at it and turned back. If you're not sure, don't go. Even if it means climbing back out.

So to sum up:
unsure about conditions: don't go
the entire party doesn't have a shovel/probe/transceiver each: don't go
if you absolutely have to go: one at a time and aim for a safe spot

/sermon

I'm being a bit of a prick on this. It's really easy to criticise, but I've been there and I know that powder fever takes hold. But *nature hates you and wants to kill you. Keep that in mind.

* I've been side-country riding for a few years, but started splitboarding last year.

If it gets your four-year-old psyched about clearing your driveway for you, that's probably worth the effort right there. Despite what my parents thought, I'm fairly sure shoveling all that snow by hand as a kid didn't actually improve my character at all. There's also few things quite like snow shoveling to make you appreciate the value of knowing how to maintain a small engine, which I'd wager is a more valuable life skill and better for one's character than knowing how to shovel stuff for hours without wrecking your back.

Sad to see Oliver just pick on John Boehner all the while the Dems have been in control last 6 years.

Both parties have failed. Even Obama's $800Billion stimulus fund for highways and bridges and other shovel ready jobs did not seem to produce much. How much of that got wasted for his "buddies"

We also just blew 10 Trillion and now 18 trillion in debt Where did all that go to?

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