TennesseeGuy

A free market is available to all of us and I embrace the opportunities it offers. All my purchases are decided by me and it's up to me to come up with what best fits my needs. I love being in control of my finances. Never have made much money, but have been living below my means for a few decades and that makes me rich by not having money pressures.

I'm bothered by parting with money when I have very little control of the amount or how it's spent. I have problems giving up money I send to tax collectors and the worst possible investment I've ever made is sending 15.2% of my earned income to the U.S. Government for their "legal" Ponzi Scheme", Social Security. Every president beginning with Lyndon Johnson has made an annual raid of the Social Security surplus and with the help of congress, increased the size of government.

I prefer to see our board continue on a positive note and not be involved in the personal destruction of a person or business, based on one experience.

Moderators, I understand your position and can only hope you receive voluntary cooperation from members to maintain an acceptable level of discussion by showing respect for the other guy.

You'll be taking on a little bit of discomfort for a whole lot of gain.

Have you had a biopsy yet?

Hey bassboy, I got the Sony CRT 34" (194 pounds) November 2006 and got a second one three days later. I'm pleased with both and they came with a two year warranty, which I read. Close out prices were good also. I thought a CRT would be good to get at a time when they should be perfected.

As good as they are, they can't make Ohio State University look good against L.S.U. right now.

Jack, good luck with the ream job by your Roto Router Doc. Soon you'll be able to stand in the middle

of your boat and take a whiz over either side. Check wind direction first.

Enough of this. May 17, 2008 I'll honor the Rockpile with a waypoint on my X 15.

Dan, I've never overshot that turn. To me it's rounding third and heading home. (A line borrowed from the late Joe Nuxhall, who used it to sign off every Cincinnati Red's radio broadcast)

Tom, I'm covered on the water with my Lowrance X-15 Sonar/GPS with MapCreate for Canada and U.S. In October one of my fishing partners had a new Garmin Nuvi 660 and we fired it up after shopping the Gander Mountan store in Hermantown, MN. The nice lady in the box took us back into Duluth, then up the north shore, into Ontario and finally up the Red Lake Road. It took me on the same roads I've taken before, but I became sold on the unit. It's a sweet toy. Check some reviews and you'll agree.

The 660 wouldn't be very effective on water. It holds a ton of tunes that will play through a vehicle stereo system. Accepts an SD card. Is compatible with a bluetooth cell phone. It provides traffic information.

A couple of weeks ago I was excited to receive my Garmin Nuvi 660, but was disappointed

when I ran across problems with the touch screen. What I touched did not pop up on the

screen. I was all set to contact the company about returning the unit when I checked the

trouble shooting pages of the manual. Yep, they suggested calibrating the GPS, which

was a simple procedure, and now it performs great.

I don't really have a good reason for owning a navigation system since I go to only one place and then back home.

I suggest going on-line and checking for recalls of your unit.

I've hit the recall jackpot several times. Most recent was replacement wheels for my pressure washer. Before that was a $2700 replacement of ABS system on a Dodge Caravan. Both were discovered by going on-line. The companies did not notify me of either problem.

I've received about $600 of replacement items on my 2002 Honda Odyssey through the Honda Goodwill Program. The van was out of warranty at the time. I also understand that Honda may be replacing inferior tranmissions up to 200,000 miles through the goodwill program. They know the transmission is bad and they are attempting to do the right thing.

One of my employees damaged a two month old Canon copier through misuse. I contacted a company representative by phone and explained exactly what happened and asked what I should do. They made the copier good as new as a one time perk for using Canon products. My cost would have been nearly as much as the new price. Later I found out the same employee attempted to illegally download music to an office computer, but that's another story. I avoided jail because I didn't kill her.

That's great news Gary. I wish you the best in coping with your heart issues.

Is your heart doc a plumber or an electrician?

Backtrolling is less like trolling and more like taking your jig for a walk on the bottom. You're jigging almost straight down from your rod tip and you're jigging the area that you're seeing on your sonar screen. It's vertical jigging at it's best. I wouldn't suggest pulling a minnow lure backwards.

Combining backtrolling with a controlled drift can put walleyes in your boat.

It's more of keeping your bait on the bottom where the fish are than pulling your lure around the lake showing it to lots of fish as in conventional trolling.

There are lots of advantages when going after walleyes. It puts you right over your transducer. Backtrolling with a youngster in your boat keeps his line away from the prop. It aids in boat control. Trolling in reverse might reverse aging. We'll see.

Don't hit a rock. Watch out for waves in rough water unless you have a splash board.

What Rick did is pretty much the norm in my city of 28,000. I'm sure it goes on in many other locations. Seeing it in action is great.

Nice touch Rick.

Global warming is giving us longer growing seasons.

The NBC boat is at the bottom of the deepest water.

Thanks. So...................... Cold weather is caused by nature.

and according to Junior Gore our hot weather is caused by man.

Hmmm......

When I did the same thing in October 1981 I set a 5 year goal for my business and reached it. Reached it in 1993.

Any chance you could continue operating the same business in the same location? It might be a great opportunity. Under the circumstances I wouldn't find fault with your taking over some of the work you've been doing.

Owning a company that sells carbon credits is right up there with owning the lottery. My neighbor is making millions with his business. People are feeling good about themselves about their purchases, although hundreds of them are paying good money to buy the same tree.

I have a problem. The trees and grass in my 1/2 acre yard are using up carbon dioxide faster than I can produce it. Damn greedy trees!

Disease causing germs didn't have modern transportation back in caveman days. Germs and bugs love to ride airplanes, ships, trains and automobiles. Bedbugs find their way to $250 a day motel rooms. Cavemen had problems with food poisoning every now and then, but the first guy to eat bad food would get sick, throw up and maybe check out. Others got sick from watching First Guy and they would vomit the tainted food which spared them the sickness. That's how they survived.

How do I know this? My family has been walking erect for only about 200 years.

Maureen, put the butterfly part of that contraption to work and you'll soon have body parts that defy gravity.

I make an effort to avoid motels by spending nights away from home in my 10' x 10' tent from Cabela's. I tent camp going and coming from my fishing trips, and I'll be in a tent at Myakka River State Campground in Florida this March. Motel drinking glasses can be nasty, but also think about doornobs, floors, bedspreads, TV remote controls, phones, and on and on and on. Bedbugs in motels near international airports have been a problem as well.

Also, you may have guessed that I'm pretty tight with money.

Yep, I stand corrected on two counts. First, both you guys are in there. Second, all the OFC'rs I know are not necessarily pretty.

Wayne in "Angler Photos" and Dan in "Monsters".

All the OFC'rs I know are pretty. Didn't see any other than Andrew. Of course Pete has an article in the issue.

Jack Burns has stepped down as Senior Editor so he can spend more time on the water.