lhousesoccer

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Nice brookies! What kind of camera do you have?

No it's not. It's about the eating. That's the only reason anyone would want to spend time and money dragging in those water-logged wet socks.

I saw this posted on another fishing website with a similar thread discussion. I neither agree or disagree with the statements contained herewithin , but I thought it was interesting enough that I'd repost here: QUOTE: it takes three weeks for the price at the pump to drop after the barrel price drops. it takes three hours for the price to go up at the pump after barrel price goes up. the wall street people make our price. it cost the same to pump and refine it as it ever did. the people selling it in the middle east sell it the for what the wall street scum say they buy it for and then sell it for. but they never buy or sell it. they just make reciepts saying they did. weird huh? when gas went up two years ago, to $150 a barrel, it was $4 at the pump. now at $110 a barrel its $4 at the pump. and it still cost what it did ten years ago to pump and refine it. thats why we killed saddam hussein. he had so much oil and sold it cheap. we tried it with hugo chavez too. he kicked exxon out of his country to socialize oil and it did great things for his people. gave them cheap gas and created money for education and healthcare for venezuelans. we demonized him for looking out for his own people cuz white people here had to work harder to get rich. if we kicked out exxon and socialized oil we would pay what it cost to pump and refine it, about 50 cents a gallon. wall street traders who dont own it and never will or did wouldnt make money off of us using it. right now, if we drilled in alaska, exxon would pretend to sell the oil to wall street and we would still pay $4 a gallon. i support drilling in alaska only after we socialize oil. then it will help americans and not just exxonians who pay politicians to help them screw you and me over. viva capitalism END QUOTE By the way, as you might have noticed, this was posted on an American fishing board I read

My favourite part is in the elevator ...

Quite honestly, I think if Montreal can win Game 6 at home tomorrow night, it's anyones series on Thursday in Boston. Montreal won the first two games in Boston and last Saturday's game in Boston was about as even-sided as you can get from two teams. Full on power hockey for the whole game, back and forth skating, chances at either end, goalies standing on their heads both making spectacular savings, then Double OT. It was anyone's game. Neither team showed dominance. I think Game 7 in Boston could go either way, if it gets there. Personally, I'd like to see Montreal win. I'm a Leafs fan, but not your typical Leafs fan. Most Leafs fans love to love any team that beats Montreal. For me, when the Leafs are out of it, I go to supporting Montreal. I can thank my grandfather on my mother's side for that, who was a die-hard Habs fan his whole life. Any whoever said watching a game in Montreal is unlike any other experience you'll have, is bang on. I've been lucky enough to see 7 NHL games in person in my 41 years. Growing up in Ontario south of London, I managed to get tickets to two Leafs game when I was in university in Peterborough. Then, I ended up in Vermont and I'm 2.5 hours to downtown Montreal, and 2.75 hours to downtown Boston. I have a friend on Montreal with seasons tickets and I've managed to get to 3 games there, and my brother-in-law works for a financial firm who slides him Boston Garden tickets once in a while, so I've seen 2 games there. The crowd, the history, the pre-game show, the atmosphere in Montreal blows everything else away. Of course, one game I saw in Montreal was against Toronto. I let my wife wear my Habs jersey, and I wore my Leafs jersey. It's a good thing I also speak french - that way I at least knew what was being yelled at us!

Let me preface this by saying "I'M A LEAFS FAN. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE". Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I wanted to repost this article I read on the MSN sports page today. Let the debate begin. Is this guy right? Or is he way off base? Why the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be an NHL powerhouse for at least five years Another NHL season, another year without any playoff games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite an infusion of excellent goaltending from rookie James Reimer and a valiant team effort after the all-star break, a miserable first half was just too much for the Leafs to overcome. Their playoff absence now stretches to six seasons and seven years thanks to the lockout. Certainly there have been signs of promise from the team's core youngsters and a few tweaks could easily get them into the dance next year, but their long Stanley Cup drought is still years away from being lifted. The following is what still ails the blue and white and what prevents them from being a perennial powerhouse. Draft Schmaft It's been proven time and time again that good teams build through the draft. Sure, the New York Islanders' brass will tell you that there are no guarantees, but looking at upper-echelon teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals should have been strong enough evidence to entice the Leafs to keep their top draft picks. Even teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks have built the foundations of their organizations through lower first-round selections. Instead, the Leafs have given up picks which have been used to draft the likes of Scott Niedermayer, Roberto Luongo and super-rookie Logan Couture. Not to mention the two first-rounders relinquished for Phil Kessel. Banking on free agency Because the Leafs have largely been resistant to holding onto high draft picks, the franchise has adopted the mantra, as general manager Brian Burke says, "July 1 will be our draft." Overall, that strategy hasn't worked for teams in the past - see New York Rangers - and because teams tend to lock up their young talent, which they draft, the chances of it working now are slim to nil. Last year the Leafs were only able to nab third-line forward Colby Armstrong in early July, thanks to weak selection of available players. And this year's crop of free agents is arguably weaker. Plus their biggest needs - a centre like Brad Richards and, to a lesser extent, a goalie like Ilya Bryzgalov - are rumoured to be uninterested in coming to Toronto. Cap concerns Every team has issues with their salary caps, and, quite honestly, when compared to those of the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames or New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs' problems look rather minuscule. However, like the Rangers who have former world-class defenceman Wade Redden and his $6.5 million contact buried in the minors, the Leafs have Jeff Finger playing in the AHL. While his salary doesn't go against the cap as a member of the Marlies, Finger's earnings compared to his quality of play in his first NHL season in Toronto meant the Leafs were forced to sign Mike Komisarek. Komisarek has underperformed mightily in his first two seasons with the Leafs and has three more seasons left on his hefty contract. The team will have to decide whether to continue to overpay him on the third pairing or go the Finger route - something general manager Brian Burke has been steadfastly against. Misreading talent Aside from Jeff Finger and Mike Komisarek, the organization has a long history of either misreading talent or having players play their best hockey elsewhere. Just in their recent non-playoff years, the Leafs have undervalued the likes of Alex Steen and Tuukka Rask and overvalued - just in goal alone -Andrew Raycroft, Vesa Toskala and Justin Pogge. While Brian Burke is doing a much better job in this regard, namely with Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur, there are still some blemishes. Backing the wrong players On top of the Maple Leafs organization having made some irreversible decisions when it comes to judging talent, their present situation has also set them back. While the team's two core players, captain Dion Phaneuf and scoring winger Phil Kessel, can be considered good or even excellent NHLers, neither has proven to be a frontline player capable of leading a dominant team. Both have shown signs of brilliance this season, but Phaneuf still has defensive lapses and Kessel still generally avoids the tough areas on the ice. Considering they're paid to be superstars, that doesn't bode well for future success. Out with the new and in with the old In the years leading up to the lockout, the Leafs were one of hockey's most consistent teams. From 1999 to 2004, the blue and white made the playoffs every year, reaching the Eastern Conference final twice, while only failing to advance past the first round once. They accomplished this by being one of the league's biggest spending teams and by mortgaging the future in deals for past stars in the twilight of their careers. The trades for Brian Leetch and Owen Nolan - where they gave up top prospect Brad Boyes - highlighted a team philosophy that would continue into the 2005-06 season when they signed Eric Lindros, Jason Allison and Jeff O'Neill. As one of the youngest teams in the NHL, the Leafs have certainly altered their course. But because it's only a recent change, it will take some time for those young players to reach their full potential. Lack of truly elite players There's Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel today. There's Mats Sundin from a couple years ago. Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark, Darryl Sittler, all of which are special talents to be sure. But there's hardly a Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin in the bunch. No the Leafs have not been known to dress truly elite-calibre players throughout the last half century. Aside from Gilmour, who won the Selke Trophy for his defensive prowess in 1993, no Leaf has won a major award in quite some time. In fact, only two have ever won the Hart Trophy - Babe Pratt (1944) and Ted Kennedy (1955). Talented players playing with lesser-likes Maybe, just maybe, one of the past Maple Leafs' stars could have won a major award winner if he had had more talent to play with. It's a problem that has plagued the team for years. Other than the brief period when Mats Sundin got to line up beside Gary Roberts and Alexander Mogilny, the long-time captain was forced to have average players like Jonas Hoglund on his wing. (Hoglund miraculously managed to net 29 goals in 2000 thanks to Captain Mats). The same issue has hampered Phil Kessel in his early tenure in Toronto as the offensive drop off between Marc Savard, his former centre in Boston, and Tyler Bozak is drastic. With Brad Richards reportedly not interested in becoming a Maple Leaf, the age-old problem will likely continue.

You definitely won't be saving any money. I decided to start my own flock last spring. I got 12 chickens, built a coop ($800 in materials). Got them beginning of May 2010 as chicks. $2.00 each. Cheap. Chick feed is cheap too and they don't eat much. They didn't start laying eggs until October when they were almost 6 months old. But the bigger they got, the more they ate. I was getting 10 to 12 eggs per day. When winter came and the day length lessened, they stopped laying eggs every day. Now I get 5 to 8 per day. A 50-lb bag of egg layer pellets cost $12. They eat one bag a week. Do the math. You'll never get your money back. But you're right. They are fun.

Haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but can someone tell me .... how far did he throw it?

Yeah, now that you mention it, I thought he would have come up with something funnier and more original. It was getting a little much after a while. The test will be to see if they ask Dave to MC again in the future.

KVD's the man, and Mercer was an awesome MC. His voice was cracking near the end though!

He's a machine, for sure.

The anglers are off the water, heading to the weigh-in. If BassTrakk is even close, it looks like a repeat .. KVD in first, Martens in second, both for the 4th time. It's unbelievable how solid, consistent and dominating KVD is. In honour of that, here's the Top 10 reasons why Kevin VanDam is the Chuck Norris of bass fishing ... • Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears KVD pajamas. • KVD doesn't need to actually cast for fish, he simply goes to a river or lake and says: "You, you, you, you and you -- in the livewell!" • KVD can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves. • When the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for KVD. • When KVD goes fishing, he doesn't need a fishing pole - he just stares at the water till the fish jump into his boat out of shear panic. • KVD runs until the treadmill gets tired. • They found KVD 's to-do list ... It is now known as The Guinness Book of World Records. • KVD doesn't do push-ups. He pushes the world down. • KVD once won an underwater breathing contest with a fish. • KVD doesn't need to wait for a bite when he goes fishing; the fish know KVD doesn't like to wait.

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For Immediate Release: February 8, 2011 Media Contacts: Shawn Good, 802-786-3863 Use of Felt-Soled Waders and Boots Prohibited WATERBURY, Vt - Anglers, hunters, trappers and others who wade in Vermont’s streams and lakes will be helping to protect our natural resources by paying close attention to their foot gear. The use of felt-soled waders or boots in Vermont waters is prohibited starting April 1, 2011. The Vermont legislature enacted the new law to help curb the spread of aquatic invasive species such as whirling disease of fish and didymo, a microscopic algae more commonly known as “rock snot. Originally native to the most northern reaches of Europe, Asia, and North America, didymo has recently been found in many new locations throughout the U.S., Canada and around the world. In some of these new environments, didymo has formed nuisance blooms and dense mats several inches thick that carpet stream bottoms. “In some cases, didymo can change aquatic insect communities and native algae populations in streams, said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Shawn Good. The abundance of certain types of trout food like mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies have been shown, in some instances, to decline dramatically where didymo blooms are found. Good added that, while research hasn't proven a connection between the presence of didymo and declines in trout numbers, taking steps to prevent the spread of the invasive didymo is important. The same precautions that can prevent the spread of didymo, can also prevent the spread of whirling disease, which can have devastating effects on rainbow trout populations. Didymo was first found in Vermont in the Connecticut River in 2007. A bloom also occurred in a New York section of the Batten Kill in 2006. Nuisance blooms have since occurred in the Mad, White, East Branch Passumpsic, and Gihon Rivers. The pathogen for whirling disease has been documented in the Batten Kill. The focus of the ban on felt-soled waders and boots is to prevent these and other invasive organisms from spreading to new waters. Why the focus on felt? Aquatic invasive species can be spread in a number of ways, but felt-soled boots are a notable contributor to the problem, particularly with microscopic species that spread through cells and spores. Felt is especially problematic because it is difficult to dry, clean or disinfect. Felt's woven fibers create voids that remain damp for long periods of time, and didymo cells and other small material can penetrate and occupy these voids. Recommended treatments have often been found to be ineffective at disinfecting these spaces. Information on the role of felt-soled waders in the spread of aquatic invasive species can be found on the Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species website http://stopans.org, by clicking on The Science of Felt link. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department notes there are alternatives to felt-soled boots available on the market now as well as “homemade” remedies. · Cut the felt soles off the boots and use a studded sole product that straps onto your waders or boots. · Use waders or boots made with studded or high-grip rubber sole material. · Add your own “studs” to a pair of rubber-soled boots or waders, by screwing in ½” hex-head sheet metal screws. This is an inexpensive way of using your current waders and boots after removing the felt soles. Specialized, hardened screws are also commercially available. The Fish and Wildlife Department recommends taking additional precautions after fishing and especially when moving between waters. Boots and other equipment should be dried, preferably in the sun, or disinfected with dishwashing detergent or bleach solution. Further details and information can be found on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website at http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/felt.cfm and on the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s website at http://www.vtwaterquality.org/lakes/htm/ans/lp_didymo.htm.

My nations' great symbol eats bark ...

That's just wrong ....

that you can't talk on ....