Rattletrap2

Here I sit....surrounded by ice and snow. Temperatures have been -15 degees for two days......and now you are talking FROGS.....and BASS.......and JULY........What are you trying to do to me? LOL

For some reason, this video made me laugh like hell!

Wow! Now this is nice! Good job!

Man, you have every right to be proud! Go ahead and gloat all you want. This board has always been about so much more than just "fishing". Everyone here takes an active interest in others lives, and that makes it so special. I personally am past the point of raising 3 wonderful adult Daughters ( all of whom I am extremely proud of!) and now I am moving on the the Grandchildren phase! It excites the hell out of me! LOL I can't wait to fish with my new Grandson. Even if he does not take an active interest in it, I will make sure he is exposed to fishing and gets the opportunity to see if he enjoys it. His Dad is an avid fisherman, so the little guy has a decent chance! Enjoy and congrats to you!

Good Luck Pete! All the power to you! Maybe this will inspire me to do something similar. Maybe not as drastic, but I need to do something!

My deepest condolences Jacques. He was a very talented and gifted man from the looks of his work and passion that he poured into it. Just your words alone tell us how special he was. Very sorry for your loss.

LOL. These were my first thoughts! I'd also be afraid she might panic and end up in the pool! That would not be fun!

They have to start seriously looking at recycling the aggregate they have already extracted! Do you think dumping used concrete in Lake Ontario to expand Toronto's waterfront is a good renewable practice? That land and the buildings on it are for profit only. Like others have mentioned, the biggest problem with digging of this magnitude in this particular area, is the damage that could have been done to aquifers billions of years old that are vital to life as we know it.

I personally don't trust them for a minute...but nevertheless, we are celebrating this victory!

Skipper, things are well here. Just trying to get ready for winter. For some reason, the outside chores just never seem to end! Taking much longer than usual to get things done. Good thing the weather is cooperating. Other than a ton of rain, at least it is mild!

Dan, you just have to know that this sort of thing goes completely against my very conservative nature! LOL My Wife says I'm stepping out on the wild side by taking a chance on this sort of thing. The outcome paid off, so who knows where to go from here? LOL BTW, you done real good with the laptop repairs!

First off, I have no financial interest in this company and hope this is okay to post. A week ago Friday, my 2003 Toyota Rav4 started acting up. The transmission was slipping and it was starting off in third gear. Only 155,000km. I made it home and searched online. Turns out this is a well documented problem that Toyota is not willing to deal with (at least in Canada). The Engine Control Module (ECM) breaks down and the transmission does not know when to shift.I found a company called Circuit Board Medics Inc. They are in Greer, South Carolina. I have to admit that I was reluctant to remove the vehicle's "brain" and ship it Southbound. They had an excellent video showing removal. I called on Monday morning an a fellow named Lee Cunningham answered and after hearing the symptoms, assured me they could help. He sent me shipping instructions and promised a 24 hour turn around. I sent it FedEx overnight and received an email notifying me that they received it the next morning. The day after that, they emailed me to say it was on its way back! Thursday morning, I had it back in my hands! They also included instructions to allow the ECM to learn the proper shift points again. It came with a 1 year warranty. Repair cost was $225.00. A new module is about $1,800.00 and Toyota wants to install a new ECM and rebuild the tranny for about another $3,000.00! I installed it Saturday morning and the car runs great. Never shifted smoother! I'm sharing this for a couple of reasons. One is that they were a fantastic company to deal with and deserve recognition. The second reason is that they deal with a lot of different vehicles and also appliances with expensive circuit boards. If this helps just one more person save a few bucks, I'm happy! www.circuitboardmedics.com

Thanks for sharing such a great report Wayne. Since I don't get out fishing much anymore, it is nice to relive the moments through your adventures. Best wishes for Jen as she conquers this next hurdle. Sure brought a smile to my face when I watched the video of her taking those steps! That tower was way more than I could handle. My hats off to her! Be well.

As it turned out, I didn't actually need parts for my Daughters Range, but Paul was a tremendous help to me with great info!

Funny story Ron! I guess you got the hint? Glad you were not seriously hurt!

Just a couple more notes on "Duty Cycle". It is important, but really only comes in to play when you would be running at the full rated amperage of the machine, and for a long continuous period of time. If the machine is rated at a 20% duty cycle and is rated at 225 amps, this means you should only run 2 minutes out of every 10 minutes. This should not be confused to mean that you can run for 12 minutes out of an hour! It does not work like that! The machine needs cool down time between welds. Now, let's put this into perspective. most SMAW (stick) welding is done at 125 amps or less. This means you are using 1/8" diameter electrodes or less. You can roughly base this on 1 amp per thousands of diameter. 1/8" = 1 divided by 8 = .125 = 125 amps. This does not always hold true, but it is a good place to start. You can always go up or down as desired. So, if you ran at approx. half the rated amps of the machine, you could double the duty cycle. For most welding at home, this is way more than adequate. Don't think you HAVE to go out and buy a huge industrial unit for home. As others have already pointed out, most automotive work should be done with a GMAW (MIG) machine. Easier to use and can go down quite low for sheet metal work with .023" wire. I would agree that having a gas option is best, but remember this with gas. The bottles usually are leased annually and the cost of this lease adds up. A cylinder of gas is about $50 to $60, plus the lease. Another issue is that it does not work well outdoors. If there is any wind or breeze at all, the gas shield will be disturbed and result in poor welds filled with porosity. The use of flux cored wire without shielding makes this more versatile. If you only plan on occasional usage, you might find the use of gas too expensive or not justifiable. It is nice though for indoors. When it comes to welding machines, yes, Lincoln, Miller, or Hobart would be my first choices. It is hard to ignore the Everlast ( www.everlastwelders.ca )machines though. Aside form the political view of buying "offshore" equipment, they are real good and offer a lot for the money. They are sold out of Burlington, ON and have great support. Something to consider? I have a Hobart 210MVP (MIG, Flux Core) which means it has a multi- voltage plug. It runs off 115 or 240. The amperage rating is lower with 115, but it is convenient. I run AllMig (91% Argon, 5% CO2, 4% Oxygen) gas which is a tri gas-blend. It is similar to 75/25 (75% Argon,25% CO2), but I can go into spray transfer with the tri-gas. You need a minimum of 80 to 85% Argon to cross over into spray transfer. All of those small 140 amp MIG welders are limited to short circuit transfer and shallower penetration. Still good for most home projects though. I have mine wired to a 50 amp 240 volt plug. I also have an older Miller 225 amp stick machine for heavier stuff. Just realize that any of the welders from PA are disposable. Most of them will not have parts available for them. There is also a big difference internally between the 140 / 180 amp Lincoln machines from CTC and HD than what is available from your LWS (Local Welding Supplier). They look the same, but there are considerable differences. Anyways, good luck with your purchase, be safe, and have fun!

Nice photos Lew! Be careful with Ol' Marvin. Our friends lost an old teacup poodle to an owl one night in their yard!The dog was very frail and old, and I guess the owl used this to it's advantage. There were other small dogs in the yard, but this one was the slowest and weakest. Easy prey!

Very nice gesture Photoz!

I don't get it. For a Senior Fisheries Biologist to claim "it looks like Lymphocystis" is pretty nonchalant! I mean they already had the darn fish out of the water! What would it take to do a biopsy and either deal with the situation, or put the land owners concerns at ease? No one is asking them to undertake "raising the Titanic" or anything!This is a job that could easily of been done at any of the University Biology labs. Sorry, I guess I'm just a little tired and aggravated with all this "Guvment" Bull today!

Now Wayne, If one does not have an empty 60 ouncer......and has to create one from a full or partially full bottle.....there is a good chance that we will never get to the point of rectifying this situation....at least not any time soon!lol I do like your thinking though!

Gorgeous water Dan! I have always wanted to fish for trout in a lake, but this type of water makes it all the more special. I never even knew we had water in Ontario like that, especially so far North. I guess I always just thought most of the Northern lakes were more tanic coloured.

Joe, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can change the anode to a different type of metal in some areas. If the existing one is predominantly aluminum, you can get one that is higher magnesium content? Something like that. I had the same issues with the hot water tank in my trailer. I could not access any anode, but a 1/4 cup of bleach introduced into the pre-filter housing cured the problem for years. I just ran the hot water tap after letting it sit for a few hours and waited until the smell of chlorine was gone.

I used to fish the ponds at Glen Haffy many years ago. A small "0" or "1" Mepps, Panther Martin, or Olympique type spinner would usually work well. Drive by it most week days now and never give it a try!

Awesome fish! Congrats to you both!

From a Dad of three Daughters, I know he will Maureen! Congrats to you both Belippy!