JohnF

The map's kinda neat. I wonder what Tennesseeguy is doing up in the frozen north. Hunting? JF

That surprises me. Well .... on the other hand no it doesn't actually. I've seen our bureaucrats get led astray by personal agenda groups too often to think that what should be patently obvious as right isn't always. JF

That's what I've been thinking throughout this thread. If the RLTA representatives are no better at lobbying than they are at debating in this forum why even worry about them getting their wishes with the govt? Based on what I've seen here they're more likely to get the lake shut down to non-resident fishing altogether or worse. You interested forum members might do better to just worry about collateral damage control rather than arguing with the mayor et al about their position. And that being said I once hung out with some fellers back in my younger days who run operations on the lake and as memory serves they were way too intelligent to be associated with the half-baked vaudeville act we're experiencing here. So I figure this is either a group of self-appointed loose cannons running amok with an ill-conceived solution to an isolated problem or a splinter cell (from a sanctioned group effort) who confuse bluster and bullying with the nuances of lobbying and negotiation. To all interested parties good luck with your lake's future. I trust it's actually in better hands than some of those presenting their confused and spurious arguments here. To the mayor and friends, the best advice I can offer as an objective observer is to stop with the counter productive efforts. You're doing more harm than good. JF

It probably works just like any other industry. Write a great resume. Get a list of the companies that you think you'd like to work with. Start mailing. Don't undersell yourself. Most companies are suspicious about anyone willing to take less than they're qualified for despite the rationale offered. I think they figure you're either exaggerating your abilities or you'll walk away when you get tired of the underachieving job you get. That doesn't mean you can't say you're willing to start in a learning role but make it clear where you expect to end up, and soon. I speak from experience having gone thru the very same experience in the sled industry back in the day. JF

An interesting situation. The first thing I'd check is whether there exists a registered restrictive covenant against the property. That may be stretching a bit but it seems under the circumstances to be something the govt funding body should have considered. The other possibility is as Rick suggests, treating it as a breach of trust if not an outright violation of the terms of the grant or whatever form the money contribution from the govt took. In any event there should be protection & recourse for the business operators affected by the change in use. Talk to a local lawyer about it. JF

I've installed and tried Firefox several times over the years. Unfortunately some of the work related software I use doesn't like to dance with Firefox so I always end up going back to IE in whatever incarnation is currently available. My point is that as good as Firefox may be it doesn't suit everyone (like me) so don't look for it to be the ultimate solution for you. That being said I sure wouldn't hesitate to try it if I were you. Just make it your default browser while you try it out. As someone said you don't need to uninstall IE. In fact it's a good idea to keep it handy in case you run into something that Firefox doesn't wanna play with like I have. JF

I got rid of a Pilot (Ridgeline without the pickup box) last year after 4 years of happy driving. It was a leased vehicle and the residual was too high (I thought) so I let it go. Found out later it sold for the residual at auction. I guess they're as good as folks say. If I'd only thought about it I probably should have just bought it when I had the chance. JF

We got a Flex AWD and a Mazda Tribute V6 AWD (Ford Escape in camo)about a year ago and I'm happy with both. I'm not a small guy 6'225# so I wasn't sure about the size of the Tribute/Escape but it turned out to be fine for me. The Flex is much bigger and does everything my minivans have done in the past only quieter and smoother. It also tows Garry's Ranger nicely. Whether you can find a Flex on the resale market in your budget remains to be seen as they haven't been around that long. JF

If memory serves the powers that be told us there were reasons for the upgrade so unless we want a refund I guess we'd better get with the program. JF

Has it been confirmed that it's actually the mayor's property? I sorta assumed that the statement was made tongue in cheek and has gotten out of control. Maybe I was wrong but if not it's a stunt the press would be proud of. JF

By any chance is yer dog called Buck??? JF

I sure wish I'd told Albert to move his hand before the shot, or at least told Garry to lose the grin. JF

I've been there and can attest to Buck's joyful enthusiasm for fish. The time he was dog-paddling around the boat with his face in the water looking for the fish you'd released was a hilite. JF

I wonder if there'll be a double whammy on this one if the property in question is within the designated Greenbelt area. JF

Well duuhh! Do they look frozen? JF

Buck's still slavering over every fish like it was a chewtoy. JF

Besides there's no blood or fur involved. JF

Keep us posted on how it plays out. It would be nice to learn that that property owner got slammed hard. Even if there were permits in place I doubt if they were meant to allow that kind of shoreline modification so there's bound to be repercussions of some kind. JF

For years that was a fallacy because of the disparity in currency values. At the moment with the Canuck dollar catching up (should hit parity soon) there are some pretty good deals on small stuff like sale clothing and fishing reels. New cars and some appliances are pretty good but between warranty hassles and cross border regs it just isn't worth the trouble. Frankly most of the money I spend is on accommodations, food and gas. When our kids were little it was Disney World and Busch gardens and there were no bargains to be had there. In any event the point of the rebate is as a tourist incentive, not out of any sense of fairness. It's govt we're talking about after all. Particularly now with your devalued dollar it's harder to attract American tourists up here. Y'all prefer paying 60 cents on the dollar fer yer fun. JF

I had a raft on the Thames when Crocket was kicking Mike Fink's evil butt so of course I always poled my raft. I had the rhythm all worked out for walking the length of it while pushing. It was all good except for when the damned pole stuck in the mud. Frontierland was always my favourite part of Disney World. JF

Horses for courses. The OP was asking for suggestions for keeping tabs on an elderly loner. My impression was that they'd probably have a pretty good idea of where he was but not how he was. The locater feature wouldn't help with the how - but I can see the benefit for someone out wandering in the bush. JF

And I suspect yer right. JF

I wasn't actually thinking of just a venting place for everyone to sound off or praise, rather a spot to showcase specifically selected posts that go beyond venting and offer valuable info for us to share. I was thinking of a read only kinda thing that would simply include the post with the praise or criticism and if a complaint then include the solution or response from the company in question (if any). I've seen a number of posts here that affected my perception of a company or product pro & con. JF

I must have missed something then because in all my years of spending too much money in the States no one ever told me how I get a rebate on the taxes I pay on that spending (for the services I can't collect on either). Where do I submit my rebate claims? JF

Terry's Shimano thread reminded me that I meant to mention this earlier. There have been several threads recently that either panned a manufacturer/provider or praised them. Seems to me we'd all appreciate having the benefit of these product and service observations. It also occurs to me that a section here that hilited these items might be useful to the manufacturer distributors in case they care what's being said here, and I suspect some of them do. Whether or not the thread is a bouquet or a brickbat, and whether or not the manufacturer/distributor reacts to it are informative for all of us planning to lay out our hard-earned dollars for gear. I was thinking there could be a read only section for these Brickbats & Bouquets or whatever that would be lifted from the regular threads without all the attendant conversation, just the relevant posts that describe the problem or the praise and if necessary the response from the supplier. It would take some objectivity to weed out the threads that are just petty axe grinding and personal agenda stuff. Any thoughts? JF