  We present numerical support for the hypothesis that macroscopic observables
of dense granular media can be evaluated from averages over typical blocked
configurations: we construct the corresponding measure for a class of
finite-dimensional systems and compare its predictions for various observables
with the outcome of the out of equilibrium dynamics at large times. We discuss
in detail the connection with the effective temperatures that appear in out of
equilibrium glass theories, as well as the relation between our computation and
those based on `inherent structure' arguments. A short version of this work has
appeared in Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5034 (2000) (cond-mat/0006140).
