Old Ironmaker

I have Coopers on the Silverado, great tires, very aggressive tread and no road noise other than normal. Got out of a 5' high drift last year to test the tires put it in 4 low, no problem. Made a U turn on a beach and found myself buried to the axles, that was not a test. I thought for sure I would need a tow but again hopped right out. They are not winter rated.

Wormdunker has volunteered to bring some home made Jerky too! I think I'll try his before I ruin a perfectly good roast.

Is there an echo in here? Easy on the meds.

I'll have to Google these guys. I'm so far out of the loop these days I can't even see where the loop is. Googled. No wonder I don't know about Keith, he plays hockey. He's the real deal 3 Stanley Cup rings. I don't know about this Farmer guy. 29-4-1. Not much about him but he is touted as a late blooming up and comer by a Internet blogger.

On any reviews I have seen there are always a few that dislike the same item that got rave reviews from others so I always take online reviews with a grain of salt. Just like recently someone was saying they had nothing but trouble with their Nissan Altima, ours is the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned. I have been destroying cars since 1970. I will never own another Chrysler vehicle for the rest of my life, I couldn't give away a Intrepid I had that looked to be in very good condition, a $1000.00 transmission communication computer every 20,000 kilometers, I scrapped the clean shinny car with 200,000 kms on it. My brother in law that worked for GM in St. Kitts will drive only Chrysler products and has since he was 16, he's 70 now.

Wow Rick, what a class act he is. Maybe you were talking to one of his "crew". They all seem to have them from every aspect of pro sports, not so much in hockey I think. A 21 year old kid gets signed in MLB, NBA (some are right out of high school) or the NFL that came from humble backgrounds and sign multi million dollar contracts spend 2 years of salary the first year on their crew. I read in a book about Ali that he once had a paid staff of 100 people, if he was your friend you had a pay cheque. The NFL Players association at least runs a rookie and veterans program trying to steer these kids and they are just kids, in the right direction. The average playing career for the NFL is less than 5 years. Most never had a job and don't know what income tax is. Don't tell me they spent 4 or 5 years in University learning anything but working out. Just listen to many, they can't string 2 sentences together. Just axe me, you know what I'm sayin'. The NCAA prepares them for failure. More and more football players are not finishing their Sr. year so they can enter the draft and be able to buy a decent dinner before they are injured and their dollar value plummets. They aren't supposed to take a free coffee now. In one case I read a top prospects family was evicted from their home, Mom and several children and was kicked out of school by the NCAA for accepting money to get the family a roof over their heads. His value dropped several million dollars because of it. But an amateur "Olympian" can take a monthly stipend from the school. I don't get it.

Sorry Dutch, I never thought of that, yep you're right. Keep them hanging.

For sure they do it for the money. The number of past Champs that retire broke is amazing. Big names. Mike Tyson, well everyone knows that story. He has kicked his drug habit and his 1 man stage show a few years back is amazing. If you have never seen it I highly recommend it, he is hilarious, who knew. The saddest story is that of Heavyweight Champ Joe Louis that died penniless in 1985. He was Champ from 37' to 49' and earned then 4.5 million dollars. He had to turn to Wrestling to help pay off the IRS. He ended up as a greeter at Caesar's Palace. His longtime foe Max Schmeling of Germany helped pay for his funeral. There was no money to bury the man. Some of those world champs that died broke or are broke, Riddick Bowe, did 5 years for sexually assaulting his baby sitter, Trevor Berbick, murdered by his nephew in Jamaica. Won the title as a Canadian beating the likes of Ali when Ali was a old man suffering from neurological decease. I will never forgive him for that. Leon Spinks, beat Ali for the title in 79' is now a janitor at a YMCA in Columbus. The list is long, too long.

That would be MMA cage fighting.

Thanks Brian. That is something you don't see every day. He could have had 20 minutes and he couldn't have gotten back into the ring. No way to end a fantastic career that has gone on 5 years too many, even fighting at 35 is crazy to me. If you listen to Hopkins he said he was pushed out, sorry Bernie you were punched out. As soon as someone helped him up he was automatically DQ'd.

Thanks for the education G.Mech. We need a good winter tire here on the Erie lakeshore. My wife puts on 70KMS a day at least in poorly maintain roads. Just today she woke to find a layer of ice on the road. She took the Altima with the new Hancooks on it rather than the truck with big aggressive Coopers, they don't have the snowflake on them so they may be All Weather tires, need to check that, It wasn't in the budget to buy 12 new tires and 4 new rims. She said the car was better on the ice than the truck tires. I finally convinced her to drive the 4X4 Chev this winter, I can feel an argument, I mean discussion in the near future. I think she should drive what she is more comfortable with. The car has over 300,000 kms, so I want to baby it a bit. I told her many times it doesn't matter what tires she has if she can't keep the vehicle under 120 KMS per hour.

I can't paste the link from You Tube of course. Joe Smith knocked the 40 year old Hopkins clear through the ropes in the 8th round of a scheduled 12 round light heavyweight bout last night. He unceremoniously landed on a few fans in the first and second rows. Hopkins has been retiring for the last 10 years. No way to go out that way. You go out like Peyton Manning did this year holding the Super Bowl trophy. If anyone can post the link from You Tube I thank you. It's time for me to try a different browser, Google maybe?

Are they like summer tires that can be driven in winter? Marketers come up with something every day to sell more stuff. Huzz, go to the websites for tire retailers that sell those brands and see how they are rated from 0 to 100 for performance, includes braking on ice, snow, noise, wear etc. To get a specific tire that is used by fellow members here is a long shot. I am a Hankook or Cooper tire customer. I recommend both. There are so many tires out there it was mind boggling choosing 1 snow tire this fall. I was in info overload. For best value Firestone always has a sale on. I replaced Firestones on the car after 6 seasons.

I enjoyed it more than the 1st time. Magazine quality photos. Thanks again. May I ask what camera and filters if any did you use for those fantastic landscape pics?

And 5 feet in the Yukon. I don't plan to go to either place this winter. I want 3 feet of sand on a beach when we go to Cuba for 3 weeks in February. I need a cat sitter. "Sorry babe your cat ran away."

To keep critters out of your boat, bike and other stuff I shave up Irish Spring soap and put it in Tupperware tubs, plus dryer sheets and moth balls. Works well because I haven't had any mice damage in my boat or Harley when I had it, or it's like Deer gear that is a wives tale and I just have been lucky. And she likes it too.

At least 100' feet of pack ice here on Erie out front, or back depending. It looks good so far for Fish Farmer.

I have caught a total of 1 Whitefish in my life Brian. Off the Rock Cottage at Bear Creek, Nipissing. I have to admit I was sound asleep when she hit. Nothing better than to have a nap in the sunshine in May after the Winter Olympic games at the plant. It was a nice one too, weighed in at 10 pounds, it used to be 8. We had no idea what to do with it other than we knew we were going to eat it. So when in doubt stuff it and bake it with Moms standard fish stuffing. If the fish isn't good eat the stuffing. Man we were pleasantly surprised. A flaky sweet meat. I will never pass one up no matter what the lips look like, now if only I can catch another in the next 30 years. One day the guys brought in an entire stringer of them in from the Ottawa, the only problem is they were some kind of big Shad.

Bump. Looks good for me so far. Is it going to be "The usual suspects" as last year? Who's in so far? I hope some more locals can make it. Bruce is good for 6 or so if he brings all 3 generations of Bruce's'.

Follow B if all you want is Whitefish Nick.

What do you mean by "charters"? Maybe an ice fishing inside joke. Been years since I went out on the ice to fish. In the old days we went out almost every week somewhere. I'm talking 20 plus years back. Then if there was ice here on Erie we would rent a shack at St. Williams for perch and cut a few holes ourselves. If there is anyone that does rent huts on Erie it is up to over 50 bucks a day per person not including minnows. Crazy. My wife came with me a few times believe it or not and she really enjoyed watching me loose my Oakley's down the hole unhooking her fish then spend a few hours trying to snag them in 7' of crystal clear water. Eventually the current came along and I went 0 for 500 trying to hook them.

No they aren't, I pray they take care of us both. I don't see anyone else willing to though. I thought ASWA might buy the company. That didn't work out so well at Algoma did it? Bedrock, yabadabadoo.

Like I said when I was younger, 25 years younger, it was beyond an adventure. Who wouldn't want to go to Tokyo and take the Shinjuku (bullet train) south to Osaka doing over 300 KMH while seeing a snow capped Mount Fuji through the bubble window while drinking copious amounts of warm Sake and ice cold Ashani (sic) beer. The biggest culture shock in Japan is that on almost every corner of every city and town you could get pre mixed drinks, Sake and beer from vending machines. Then stopping in Oahu or San Fran for a cool down on the trip back. Spending 3 weeks in Iran and kissing the ground at Pearson when we got back was about what did me in. Each of us had a " tour guide" kindly supplied from the Iranian Government free of charge. It took 6 hours to clear customs waiting to be interviewed by the RCMP and CSIS. It was great but as I reached my mid 50"s I was done like dinner. Once I turned down a few trips to God forsaken places into the rust belt and southern US destinations the phone stopped ringing. Never, ever go to Gary Indiana for any reason whatsoever. Unless that is you are willing to carry a handgun around on night shift because robberies by employees are common inside the plant. The money was missed but the obscure Airport motel rooms and dining solo were not. A few trips towards the end to the UK and Europe I paid for my wife's flights and we turned them into vacations and it cost me more than I was earning. Not cheap overseas. That was fantastic and I miss those times.

I listened very carefully, just in case I get on Jeopardy some day. How much oil will it take to make 1 meter waves on Erie fishable? Exon Valdez?

I know he doesn't look his age Rick and I look older than I am these days. He works his buns off and I don't. Coincidence? Even if he only make a few lifts a day for me being away from my home is work enough for me. I have traveled the globe to sit in meetings and at first it was an adventure until it became work. I remember talking to someone on the phone from the airport and he asked me where I was. I had to ask the guy sitting next to me where we were. Travelling to exotic destinations and those not so exoctic like Gary Indiana wears thin fast. I always tell him if he enjoys it go until you don't anymore.