Fishnwire

I remember when I was a kid my buddy had one in (I think) green with yellow. I was so jealous of that thing and tried unsuccessfully for years to acquire it through "tradezies". Then one day he lost it and we both cried. Haven't seen one since.

I'm not sure that last comment was necessary. Maybe that kind of thing is "precisely why" a lot of non-owners have a problem with owners...they've been spoken to by them in such a manner too many times. The École Polytechnique Massacre and the inception of the LGR were over a decade apart. I don't ever remember proponents suggesting it could have prevented a madman with a semi-automatic from committing those heinous acts...instead it was opponents who were quick to point out that it wouldn't have. No one suggested the LGR would eliminate all crime involving firearms, which is why I find it curious when people point out that it hasn't...like you just did. The safe storage law COULD have lead to people turning in firearms they didn't want to store safely, but for the most part...it didn't. That's evidenced by the thousands of weapons turned in leading up to and following the inception of the LGR. Are you really trying to tell me that you believe all those guns would have been turned in without the registry looming at that time? We teach our kids not to get into strangers cars, but we still hope the state does the best job it can of protecting them from pedophiles, right? We teach them to look both ways before they cross the street, but we still expect the state to enforce traffic regulations, right? Also, you're being a little unrealistic...do you believe that you can simply instruct the average 12 year old boy to not touch something that he thinks is really, really cool...and then be certain he won't have his hands all over it when no one is looking? You never did anything your parents warned you not to when you were young I suppose? What did I say that would indicate I didn't already know that, and am therefore in need of an "education"? There's a pretty good chance that handguns are used more than long guns in the commission of crimes because they are a better tool for the job. What does that have to do with a system which gets unwanted guns out of circulation and ensures that those that are lawfully held are always traceable back to the owner?

Nice fish. It looks like it was REALLY windy that day.

I have to admit I haven't read all the comments. Anyway... --- Have you ever noticed that every time there's a report in the news of an incident involving a handgun or automatic weapon, some opponent of the LGR points out how its existence did nothing to prevent the crime? I always laugh because the LGR was never intended to do anything about such problems...nor was it ever sold as something that would. It would be like me suggesting we should scrap speed limits on our roads because they've done nothing to limit drunk driving. - The LGR was intended to cut down on the amount of neglected, half-forgotten, and improperly secured long guns residing under camp beds, in unlocked sheds and in the backs of closets. Firearms that may have been passed down to those uninterested in safely maintaining them, or those whose very ownership is unclear. It encourages everyone who owns a registered long gun (which may have been unregistered prior to the LGR) to ensure they are vigilant in knowing its whereabouts and that it is safely secured at all times. If the owner fails to do so and that failure contributes to an undesirable outcome, he or she knows that the recovered weapon can be traced right back to them, at which point they'll have some questions to answer about how that happened. When the LGR was implemented thousands of weapons (tens of thousands?)were turned in by people who weren't prepared to take that responsibility. That equals thousands of guns that your and my kids can't get a hold of because they're no longer wrapped up in a blanket in your neighbour's garage...or wherever. - Valid arguments can be made that the LGR is "not necessary". I could make the argument that unloading your weapon, AND putting a trigger lock on it, AND storing the ammo in a separate location is not necessary...but all of you (most of you?)do it. You employ redundant and arguably unnecessary safety measures regarding the storage, transport and use of your guns because you're responsible and want to prevent the possibility of any accident, no matter how unlikely. I can't figure out why the LGR isn't viewed as a similar aspect of the hobby that takes time, money, and effort, but is simply part of the deal.

That's what I don't understand.

I've been too busy to stop by...but I did eat the chili. The texture was a little off, but it tasted fine and had no more a dramatic effect on my digestive system than freshly made chili does. It was actually pretty good...and although I love hotdogs...chilidogs are worth certain risks.

I found a Tupperware container of chili I made and froze nearly two years ago. I wonder if it's still good to eat. It's not like I'll starve if I throw it away...It's just that I have some hot dogs I'm going to take to work for lunch and want to make them chili dogs. I'm not going to make a fresh batch of chili just for the dogs, nor am I going to make an entire meal of the chili. I defrosted it in the microwave and it looks/smells fine. Still...it is two years old. Hmmmmmmm...

Has anyone ever had this? I just got rid of it thanks to the help of OFNer Overcast, but what a PITA. Before I go any further I'll admit picking it up in the first place was partially my fault, but they go to pretty extraordinary lengths to pull the wool over your eyes if you're not careful. It tricks you into clicking on it somehow, and once on your computer, it claims to have found "threats" such as spyware or other malware. The thing is the only malicious program you have is the Antimalware Doctor itself. It "recommends" you buy the "full version" which will eliminate the threats it has detected. In reality, you would just be paying to remove Antimalware Doctor, because the rest of your system is probably clean. I've had it a couple of times a year or two ago and was able to get rid of it relatively easily with free downloads and instructions readily available online. But this time I noticed they really stepped up their attack. For one, the screen that initially "tricked" me into clicking on it and beginning the download looked almost exactly like Windows Live Care One (or whatever its called)...same lay-out, same colours, even the same multi-coloured shield icon. The other thing is that it wouldn't let me browse using Internet Explorer. As soon as whatever page I wanted to look at comes up, a message saying, "You're unprotected! Download full version now!" window would come up. As soon as you hit "Continue Unprotected" the screen drops off and comes right back. Without Firefox or another browser already installed, you can't do a darn thing. Also you get a message or a fake scan begins every few minutes. Another thing they do is trick you with the "Are you Sure?" dialog boxes when you click on options. It will give you the option of "Buying full version (recomended)" or "Continue unprotected (DANGEROUS!!!)" Then when you click continue, a verification box comes up with "yes" and "no" as options...but the dialog in the box isn't "Are you sure?", it's something like "You'll be unprotected. Please purchase the full version." That's how they sometimes get you in the first place. The really weird thing is that if you google "Antimalware Doctor" you get directed to many sites that can get rid of it for you. They scan your computer for free and will detect the malware...however, all but one seem to require a paid activation to clean your computer of them. If you go to Wikipedia and type in "Antimalware Doctor"...all you get is a list of the sites I just mentioned. As far as I can tell, you can't even create an entry pertaining to it. There are even sites set up that look like advice forums that recommend you purchase one of the available remedies. I have a feeling most of these "remedies" are put out by the very same people who put out Antimalware Doctor. What I don't understand is how they can get away with this. This can't be legal, and to "purchase the full version" you need a major credit card. It would seem that there would be a way for the authorities to track down where the money is going, or at least put a stop to their ability to receive funds this way. What I would do if I could get my hands on the computer geek/criminal behind this. I wonder if his mother is proud.

The ground allows a path for current to travel should a live conductor come in contact with any metallic non-current carrying part of the installation, like an electrical junction box, metallic cable jacketing, or the surface of your stove. Instead of it sitting there "hot", waiting for you to come in contact with it and get a shock, a short circuit condition is briefly created which is interrupted by your breaker or fuse at the panel. - Say a live wire came loose or was frayed where it enters your dishwasher and is now directly connected to the metal housing of the appliance. Without a ground wire, there is no where for the current to travel and the metal exterior of the dishwasher becomes "live"...it has the same potential as the conductors that serve it. As soon as you touch it, you complete the path to ground and get a shock. With the ground wire, as soon as the live conductor comes in contact with the dishwasher (which is electrically bonded to ground) a "short to ground" is created which causes an over-current protection device (breaker) to trip. Until that path to ground is cleared (you remove the live wire from contact with the dishwasher) the breaker will not reset. The breaker does not actually protect you. The smallest one you will likely have in your panel is 15 amps. You would be long dead before that thing trips. The breaker protects the conductors from allowing them to pass an amount of current that would damage them, and alerts you to the presence of (and prevents damage to the circuit from) a short, either phase to ground or phase to phase. - A GFCI works by monitoring the current flow on each of the conductors (live and neutral) and trips if it detects an imbalance. The idea being if fewer milliamps are on the return conductor they must be leaking to ground somewhere. I can't see why you would need a ground wire. GFCIs trip when they detect a fault of 4-6 milliamps...that's 4 to 6 thousandths of an amp. Several thousand times less than the breakers in your panel. You will sometimes get "nuisance trips" which means you shouldn't plug anything like a fridge or freezer into them. - I wish I understood fishing as well as I do the concept of a ground wire. How did my priorities get so screwed up?

I'm in need of a new (insert whatever Mercman has an extra one of) myself. Seriously though...sounds like a class act.

I wouldn't touch it. I assume he's looking at the property because it seems like a good deal. A part of the reason for that is that what you are discribing is a bit of a problem. He might be able to get insurance for it, but is he going to live there forever? What about when he goes to sell it and can't find someone else with connections in the insurance business who can do the same? A dinky little service is relatively easy to upgrade, but running a ground wire or new conductor which doesn't already exist though a pre-drywall house is a nightmare, to say the least. Like a lot of younger electricians...I wouldn't even really know how to do it. Finding someone who does will not be impossible but won't be cheap.

I love nightshifts. I'm a maintenance electrician at a mine. I'm there at night strictly to do running repairs, should the need for any arise. Usually everything runs just fine and I'm expected to just stay out of the way. Some nights I get into a real jackpot, but usually boredom is the biggest problem I face during a shift. They call me if they need me and as long as I make myself available then, no one cares what I do the rest of the time. Occasionally my boss will leave me with a small construction job or some inspections to perform, and I'll always look for things to do, but the demands on my time are not significant most nights. I'd work steady nights (I do 5 on 4 off, 4 on 5 off days/nights rotation now) except that there are not any real OT opportunities on that shift. One odd thing...sometimes when I'm underground in the mine and look at my watch I have to stop for a second and think, "Is that am or pm?" That's a really odd feeling when it happens.

My Father-in-law and I have finally had to admit that going to the camp in the winter is a huge pain and not worth the effort, fishing wise. It can be a real nightmare to get in and out and the fishing is terrible all winter in the spots we have access to. I'm going to build a sleeper hut and keep it on the Lower French at Hartley Bay. My buddy owns the marina and I'll be able to leave it there in the summer. This means I'll only have to transport in once, and could do final assembly there. I'm thinking 8x12, with two bunks along one 12 foot wall. The door, window and stove against the other. If I position them at the right height, the bunks will serve as a comfy bench. Each angler would be positioned in front of the window to monitor set lines easily and without having to get up. One bunk would swing up and I'd have a small folding table and chair that would go it its place. When its time to eat, one guy would sit in the chair and the other would swing around and sit at the foot of the remaining bunk/bench. I'm aware when the both bunks are down and both fisherman in them (one laying north-south, the other laying south-north), some amount of "footsie" may take place due to the slight overlap, but each will be in a sleeping bag, so I'm OK with that. It's going to have a wood stove (not gas) and will be very well insulated. It's has to be built solid enough that it stands up to being dragged to and from shore each season. We've thought a lot about what we want and have been checking out other huts online and on the lake. I'm fairly certain we've settled on a design but I'd appreciate hearing any advice members might have. This is not going to be a small investment of our time or money, we want to do it right and not be sitting in it saying, "Gee, too bad we didn't..." My Father-in-law has built several homes and knows a thing or two about construction. What he doesn't know about is ice huts. He is mainly relying on me to design the functionality of the thing. I've been in huts with poorly placed windows or holes, that were hard to get around in or had other design flaws that could have been addressed with better planning and foresight. If any members can offer advice that might help us avoid any "oops" I haven't thought of, I'd love hearing it before we start cutting wood. Thanx.

Deep cycle batteries don't require a higher amp rate to charge. The only thing the amount of amps has to do with is how fast the battery charges. As long as the output voltage of the charger is greater than the desired voltage of the finished-charged battery, it will fully charge regardless of the amp rate (within reason). The slower you charge your battery, the better it is for the life of the battery. Even batteries for power tools that have an optional "rapid-charge" setting will last longer if you use the normal charge setting instead. Intelligent or smart chargers will often have three to five stages in which they charge a battery...varying their output depending on the level of charge of the battery they are hooked up to. They also avoid over-charging, which along with leaving a discharged battery in that state for an extended period of time is one of the worse things you can do to any battery.

At first he "asked" to borrow my canoe. I put quotation marks around "ask" because the way he phrased it (I forget exactly how) he basically said he required use of the canoe to perform his duties. It's my understanding that according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act (more specifically the Regs)..."When carrying out their duties, conservation officers may...require assistance to complete their inspections." You could probably interpret that to mean, "you have to loan them a canoe if there are three of them sitting unused on the shore next to your dock." When I said I had no problem with him using a canoe he then said, "Well I'd prefer to use your boat, would that be OK?" I said, "Go for it." The motor was a little Suzuki 2.5 HP with no reverse...you just spin it around to go backwards. The CO started the motor (which was in neutral) and went to put it the reverse gear (which doesn't exist) but instead put it in forward...then he kind of panicked and gave a big shot of gas. He nearly put my boat up on the dock, avoided that and then almost ran the boat ashore. The boat and motor were unharmed, so it was kind of funny. An even funnier story was the time I was coming out of camp and was stopped by a CO who wanted to check my coolers. They were all empty so no problems there. Then he asked where I work and when I told him it was at Vale (Vale-Inco at the time) which is the city's largest employer he gave me his card and suggested I call him if I ever hear about co-workers breaking fish and game laws. I wonder if working in a mine with guys who I've turned in to the MNR for infractions will make me feel more, or less safe on the job?????

I've got a camp north of Sudbury which is quite isolated. You need a good 4x4 truck for the road and a quad (or REALLY good 4x4) for the last 3.5 kms. There is only one other camp besides mine in there, and in the near decade I've been going there, I've seen a total of three parties (besides myself or my guests) come in there to fish. I'll see a couple of hunters every fall, but no one goes up there in the summer. Two summers ago I was up there in the middle of the week, relaxing after an afternoon's fishing when I heard a quad approaching. Sure enough, it's a CO. He asked for my licence (which I didn't have...more on that later) and took a good look in my cooler when I offered him a water. Then he asked if I'd mind if he borrowed my boat and did a tour of my little lake (looking for nets or deadlines I guess?) and by the time he got back, it was starting to get dark. He still had a half hour on the bike before he'd get to his truck where he'd have to load up in the dark, and then drive the hour and a half back to town. I questioned (as politely as I could) why he choose to use the time and resources to come all the way in there to check out one camp. I wondered aloud if he wouldn't have a better chance catching people committing infractions in a location with more traffic. He told me that while that is true, often the worse violators committing the most serious crimes operate in remote areas. He told me that he had made a point of getting out to my camp every year, this just happened to be the first time we'd run into one another. Here's the funny thing. After all the effort he put into getting out there, I didn't have my licence, and he told me to just bring it into the Ministry office when I got back to town. the REALLY funny thing is that it turned out (I’m very embarrassed to admit this) I didn't have a licence, having somehow forgot to buy one that year for the first time since I've needed one. I bought one right away, called up the CO and left a message on his voicemail saying as much. I told him to call me back and let me know how big I fine I owed and where and how I could pay it. He left a message on my machine basically saying, "Don't let it happen again, have a nice day." I was really happy to be shown lenience, but I had to wonder...you'd think after going all the way in there, spending the time and burning the gas...he'd lay any legitimate fine he could. He had me "dead-to-rights" on fishing with no licence, and he let me off. I don't think COs (at least this one) worry too much about generating revenue through enforcement.

I didn't get a spare when I bought my Jeep second-hand. The dealership has them, but like everything else, they want an arm and a leg for them. Does anyone know if you can order them online? I know I'd still have to get it programmed at the dealership but I was hoping to avoid their ridiculous mark-up on the blank itself. The other thing I'd consider is having the electronics that recognize the chip removed and bypassed so that any properly cut key will work in the ignition. Perhaps it can be programmed out in the vehicle’s computer? Can anyone shed any light on the feasibility of doing such a thing? Thanks.

That's the best way to go but the only problem you might have is getting the single phase motor to fit where the three-phase motor was if the space it tight. Three phase motors are only about 2/3 to 3/4 the physical size of an equivalent output single phase motor.

Torrents available for download on Pirate Bay. I'm watching one now that I just finished downloading. Good quality.

That was awesome. I want to see the rest of the show. Anyone know the name of it?

Is it possible that the part about it being a "white" crappie is a misprint? It looks like every black crappie I've ever caught (obviously a lot bigger) and not really like the pictures of white crappie I've seen.

Good fish. Good pics. Good story. Good ending. Thanks for sharing.

PM me. ----- I wish I could find it, but I just read an article online a week or so ago that basically claims the idea that "everything keeps getting more expensive" is a myth. It points out that while the price of things has gone up...people's income has too. When adjusted for inflation the price of most consumer goods in relation to average income has remained relatively unchanged for the last half century or so. Like I say, I wish I could find it because the author provided all kinds of examples that showed the inflation-adjusted price of all lot of things is almost exactly the same today as it's been in each previous decade going back to the 50s and 60s. I can even think of a few things that have gotten cheaper. Look at your computer. The first one I bought was a used Pentium II and I paid $1700 for it in the mid 90's.

I only used waders one time. I went with a buddy for Rainbow opener on Manitoulin Island one weekend years ago. He loaned me a pair of waders and I couldn't even tell you what the bottoms were. The thing is we fished two and three different creeks each day, and wouldn't have been able to dry our boots and waders between stops. I guess we could have brought some buckets and disinfectant...but we wouldn't have had any way to rinse them off after and I can't imagine boots and waders soaked with some kind of disinfectant would be doing the creeks any favours either. I didn't care for the crowds or attitudes of some who seem to feel they own the real estate within a hundred yards up and down stream of wherever they are standing, so I'll probably never go again...but what should we have done differently, if anything? Just curious.

Taken from a bird at Oneida Lake, WI