JohnF

There's more to a mortgage than just the rate, not that the rate isn't important. You need to consider prepayment terms, penalties, and portability to name a few things. Ask if a different lender will absorb your fees as an incentive if you move your mortgage when it's due. Given the competitiveness of today's market I'd go out and get a guaranteed quote (rate locked in for a reasonable period of time prior to locking in) from one of the bargain type lenders and then go back to my current mortgagee and show them what you can get. Let them sharpen their pencil. Then you can weigh the options, but don't forget about the things i mentioned above. They may get really important to you if you decide to move for any reason. I think the best deal is still generally to go flexible rate as long as you know how to watch the market fluctuations and can decide, or at least get some good advice, on when to lock in and for how long. My experience (and I have a bit) with lenders is that in today's market the major players know they have to be competitive and about all I need to do is suggest to my clients that they mention the possibility of shopping around, even when it's just a renewal coming due. The really smart brokers (even the ones who work directly with the major institutions) hardly need to be pushed at all to be competitive. When the cards are on the table then you decide which is the best deal considering all the factors (rate, terms, percs, etc) and then commit. Sometimes this is one of those deals where you're best off to get referred personally by someone you know and trust to someone they know and trust in the business. Referral business is valuable when it grows incrementally and the more they get the better they tend to treat the people being referred because they want you to be a happy client who also gets them referrals. JF

For a change it's cheaper down here in Stratford. In fact it appears to have dropped a tad. I just paid 114.3 today and saw 113.9 down the street. JF

I can't believe you thought we were all just pretty faces. I mean - look at 'em all. Sheesh! Now if some of the girls had offered advice - well, that would be different, but us guys make the carp look cute, and nobody could really be as dumb as most of us look. I say most of us to allow for the swollen egos that just don't see themselves in the carp faced category. With all this research and fact finding you've been doing we should expect a new line of Canadian made Carp alarms being introduced any time now. JF

I'm even more relieved. I was looking forward to my regular 2.5 hour run down to Leslie & York Mills turning into a 3+ hour fiasco. JF

I can understand the safety aspect (I called it redundancy). We see it regularly on the smaller dive boats down in the Caribbean. As for the rpm thang - I don't know this but is there perhaps some advantage loadwise (mileage etc), or at least speedwise, with two smaller props spinning as one bigger one doing all the work. JF

I have only limited experience with outboards and that was years ago, but these pics got me wondering about something. Is there an advantage to having two small units versus one larger one, aside from the redundancy factor? Is it economy? I doubt that 2 separate units are cheaper than one larger one. I also doubt the two together burn less fuel. Is it torque - two props delivering better torque or speed than one? For sure the hardware associated with running two has to be more convoluted and expensive. So what's the trick? JF

One of my students brought me a "medium" the other day after lunch. I didn't want to sound ungrateful but it occurred to me that that "medium" sure looked small. I always buy XL when I get my own, particularly since they shrunk 'em a bit in the last downsizing. I expect we'll be seeing an XXL any time now. JF

Me too. I mean live in Stratford. I usually just wade the Thames hunting little bitty smallmouths and little bitty pike, tripping over the ubiquitous carp and suckers. JF

Well please spare us a Don Cherry blow by blow account of you stroking it. JF

Encourage him to take the chemo and think good thoughts. My wife got a pretty nasty prognosis with melanoma a couple of years ago, did the chemo, and today is feeling great. Don't despair. The docs can do pretty amazing things these days, apparently against all odds. My wife's walking proof. In fact, she's off on business in Toronto tonight. Less than two years ago she thought she literally was on death's door. All the best to you, your dad and all the family. Keep the faith. JF

So you don't travel on windy days??????? JF

Yup. If you didn't care about taking any passengers and didn't mind the heat. JF

Funny. The guy who got me back into creek fishing after a 50 year hiatus is an old buddy from diaper days (the ones Bill has just moved away from) who never stopped fishing. He's an artist (not of fishing, of art) who spends the winters in the Everglades fishing with his kayaks and his summers wet-wading the Thames or Nine Mile Creek. He got me re-started a couple of years ago and introduced me to the grey floating Raps with exactly the technique you described. I have no idea how long he's used them but they're all he uses, and they work, for smallies and for pike. After a few times on the river the gearpig virus caught me and I went out and bought plastic - fake Mann red worms on big Gamakatsu (sp?) hooks and they worked great. He started ripping me off for those and was very impressed that a newby like me figgered that out all by myself. I haven't told him about you guys yet. Then I tried gold curly-tailed grubs and discovered that when nothing else wants to play the rock bass will always try to eat them. That's a great last resort when nothing else was biting, if only for a chance to get some fishy smell on my hands to offend my wife when I get home. In any case the grey Raps are always our goto lures, we're never without 'em. I had no idea they were so antidiluvean. 8) Speaking of gearpigs, I'm gonna screw my friend up totally once I learn to use a flyrod and the new baitcaster. He's been whining already about how I've totally corrupted him. He has no idea what's in store. After years of using nothing but really cheap Shakespeare spincasters with the cheapest line and really crappy rods, my new Quantum Energy spincaster and the complementary rod have spoiled him. He had to buy one of 'em. Now he knows he's gonna be getting a baitcaster and a flyrod etc - he's well on his way to perdition and damnation - and loving it. He's always fished alone. He had no idea that there was anything but grey floating Raps and really crappy reels. It's fun being an evil influence and y'all can take some of the credit. JF

It just occurred to me that I've coached hockey players older than you. Don't worry about the Ouzo, grab some of that life stuff. It's even better. Yer at the very best age. Us old farts tell everyone that it just keeps getting better with age, but we really only mean wine and scotch. There's just nothing better than being 18 - hopefully forever. I'm trying, but my wife is a wet blanket. Happy birthday, you little punk. JF

Sounds like yer fishing for bowling balls. JF

I'm still trying the single malts of the world. I promised myself not to jump to any rash decisions years ago and new ones keep showing up. In the meantime my staple is Famous Grouse on ice. I've tried a lot of single malts that make it taste great. JF

EIGHTEEN????? I just finished the thread. Okay. So it's Pepsi and Pablum then. We'll save the Scotch or Ouzo for next year. JF

Whoa!!! Ya mean when I said I'd buy you a bottle of Scotch for teaching me to flycast you were underage? I'm appalled. Anyone with ethics, morals and respect for the law woulda surely said they were underage. Just for that I'm gonna drink some of the scotch, you prevaricating fisherperson, you. Oh, wait. All fishermen are liars by definition, right? Okay. You get to keep the scotch, unless you'd rather have Pepsi, or beer, or Ouzo if you really hate good booze. BTW. I went out and bought a new fly rod rig so I'd be ready for the lessons. Happy birthday, you young punk. JF

But the Boston "Eurowimps" are delivering. Go figger. Mebbe it's the beans. It looked to me like Boston was just fired up last night and brought way more than the Habs could handle. Price looked a lot better than the previous game but some of those shots that beat him (other than a deflection or two) were rockets (fired from a supersonic platform). Boston was hustling last night. Actually they were more than just hustling, they were absolutely flying. JF

Anything wrong with stuffing it in plastic water or pop bottles and putting it out for recycling? I've done that before, although I haven't been back at this fishing stuff long enough to replace a lot of line yet. JF

One of you youngsters put him up this, didn't ya? Pretty cheesy way of rubbing it in that some of us are nearer the coffin than the cradle. After raking lawns all morning I really don't need any other reminders of my decrepitude. JF

Perhaps, but just watch yer language so ya don't embarrass any of us old pharts. We're very sensitive here. JF

Hah! Mine just rolls her eyes when she tells folks about me. I don't know why she always implies that I'm immature. Well, my chores are done, so I'm gonna sneak over to the schoolyard with the new casting rig for some much needed practice. She still doesn't know about that acquisition. JF

I like the idea of forgetting fines for littering. Sentence the litterers to XX hours of garbage picking in the parks and roadsides. High visibility areas where their high brow friends will be likely to see them. For the lesser lights just being seen actually working will be insulting enough. And offer a bonus to the cops and bylaw enforcement folks for catching offenders. JF

I was browsing thru the threads and came across these three together. "Hitch Balls" "The Secret Spot" "Rust On Tools" Does someone do this on purpose? If it's just that I'm immature and have a dirty mind then ....... mea culpa. If the mods wanna bleep this I promise I won't be offended. JF