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[at-l] pros and cons

Michael Henderson wrote-

>on top of all the gear you might weigh, now you have to weigh pros and
>cons, too!

OK, Mike, I decided to take you up on this.  I looked in all the references for
some help (Jardine, Wingfoot, Colin Fletcher, Hints from Heloise) but, sadly,
none of them mention ANYTHING about how to go about doing this.  I was on my
own, so I've included my results here so that others will not have to do their
own research.
  First, there was a question about the scale to use.  Obviously, the postal
scale would not work well here as most of the pros and cons I needed to weigh
were quite a bit heavier than your average postal package.  In fact, both the
bathroom and the medical scales I looked at would prove insufficient for at
least one of the pros, so I took him to the dump in the back of my pickup and
had him weighed there.

  The Pros consisted of the following: an NFL offensive lineman (this is the
guy who I took for a ride in my pickup; he was rather curtious about the whole
thing really, not at all offensive); an-up-and coming tennis pro (OK, she is
only 14 years old and she is my daughter, but she's got a wicked backarm, in
more ways than one); and the guy who works behind the counter at my local pro
golf shop (yeah, that's stretching it but you didn't specify what kind of
pros).

  For the Cons, I simply went to my local neighborhood State Penitentiary.  I
admit that I was rather afraid to perform this particular part of the research
but then I remembered that my Uncle Bill (and former Congressman) was there and
so looked forward to renewing my familial ties.  He in turn found a couple of
willing volunteers for my research, a Death Row inmate (he was just the nicest
fellow you could ever meet; it was hard to believe that he really chopped up
that 7-11 clerk and stuffed him in that hot dog rotisserie) and a former
Cincinnatti Reds baseball hero (imagine that: he was both a pro and a con; I
was going to disqualify him but since he didn't make it into the Hall of Fame,
I decided to give him a break) who was convicted of gambling.

  THE RESULTS: (all in good old American pounds, none of that metric crap)

Football dude	535 (without gear)
My daughter	 65 (just out of the shower)
Pro shop guy	372 (holding empty beer can)

Pros Total	972

Uncle Bill	427 (former heavyweight Fat Cat, now reformed and lighter)
Nice killer 	220 (great pects - all that weightlifting)
Hustle-No-More	325 (he wanted to bet me that he was in typical spring training
		     weight but I declined)

Cons Total	972

  As you can see, the pros and the cons were a dead heat.  Before I proceed
with my research, could you (or anyone else on the list for that matter) please
tell me just why you wanted me to weigh the pros and cons?  I mean, what does
this have to do with the AT?  Isn't this carrying the pack weight thing too far
(or actually, not carrying the pack at all, as none of the subjects in my
research would fit into my pack, save my daughter who I carried enough as a
baby, unless, of course, you have a much bigger pack than mine or know
something that I don't)?

Anxiously awaiting,

Alan  ;-)
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