Big Cliff

So, probably a stupid question but when you are making these knives do you just buy blade blanks? We use to make a lot of our own knives when I was younger but we would get things like a saw blade then design and cut out of that. These look like they are perhaps a pre made blank.

There is a product called NokOut, that I have been using for years for hunting and fishing, it doesn't cover the scent, it eliminates it. Works on anything, I won't go into a big long explanation but ask any of the guys I have introduced it to. http://www.nokout.com/home.php

Lew we have had several of those calls, one of them had the nerve to call Sue a liar when she told him our computer was turned off and had been all day. That is when she handed me the phone and I called him every name I could think of until the line finally went dead. Now when they do call I just tell them to get a life and hang up. We use to get the calls for duct cleaning too and I had some fun with them for a while "honey, some nice young man wants to come and clean our ducks for us." "Yes honey I'm sure he would pluck them too" "No sweetheart he sounds like a very nice young man, I'm sure he would wring their necks before he plucks them". To the caller: "you would wring their necks first right?" Caller "no sir not ducks, ducts, we want to come and clean your ducts" Me; " yes, we have 25 of them but my wife wants to know if you will be kind to quackers she is my wife's favorite, you would do her first wouldn't you, we wouldn't want to stress her seeing the others killed" (it has never gotten past this point they usually hang up LOL. The older you get, the more fun life becomes!

Around here I pee off the deck anytime I want, I don't care who is around, if they are nice they don't look, if they aren't it doesn't matter!

That is what I love about this place, there is always someone that has either professional advice or experience (and sometimes both) These replies have just helped me make an informed decision! NOT IN THIS HOUSE!

Boy, I have to tell you I really appreciate all the responses and FishnNautographs, thank you for your professional take on all of this! I think I am going to send them a letter asking for the name of their insurance company and policy number without providing any other information or admitting any responsibility. At least that way I will be able to confirm if they even have insurance which I sort of suspect they do not just by the way they reacted at the time. The fact that it even took them 6 weeks to get a quote doesn't sit well with me. Also, the person driving the car wasn't the owner of the car, again something fishy here, she owned the car, he was doing the driving and he was the one that didn't seem to want the police or insurance involved. I'll let you know how this all plays out!!!

McCormics Carstar Collision in Parry Sound

Did not honk horn or anything and to be honest I was a little suspicious that perhaps he didn't have insurance because of the way he was insisting it wouldn't be necessary to get the insurance company involved. I think I might just send him a letter asking for the name of his insurance company and policy number. I know he is trying to run a scam here and that is the part that makes me want to fight back!

LOL Yup, knew that was coming long before many others did (inside source don't you know) I really didn't want to get the insurance company involved because I figured the damages were less than my deductable so why bother. I wasn't impared, and at 1/2 a mile an hour I doubt anyone would call that driving like a lunatic, Had he been paying attention to what was going on, he should have stopped when he saw my backup lights were on and I was coming out from behind a truck instead of proceeding then stopping right behind me. I don't want to "do a number on" anyone but I don't want anyone to do a number on me either!

From Dec. 26 to Jan. 15, about 600 L. From Jan 15 to Feb. 6, about 750 L This is a 3000 sq' house, gas range in the kitchen, gas hot water heater, gas furnace and gas fireplace.

No, I didn't it was snowing and you could hardly see the dent anyway.

I didn't sign anything admitting I was at fault, it was also in a private parking lot and I have been advised that in that case it is 50/50 responsibility as far as insurance is concerned. If they had come back to me and said $400.00 or even $500.00 I probably would have just sent them the money but to wait 6 weeks then try to get me to pay for everything from the front bumper to the rear passanger door? I have a problem with that!

No Bill, there was no police report filed or anything else for that matter, to me it was a minor dent in an older car door and the scratch on my bumper was hardly more than a scuff mark. I didn't slam into them or anything. I figured perhaps $100.00 to fix his door, you can buy a whole new one for about $150.00 at the wrecking yard and change it in about 1/2 an hour.

Back in December 24th I was backing out of a parking spot in a parking lot in Parry Sound. A guy in a small Honda came from behind a large truck and stopped right behind me and the corner of my bumper dented his passanger door. It was a 2000 Honda Civic SE and it wasn't in very good shape but wth, I was backing up and I did dent his passanger door. I gave him my contact information and told him to get a quote and let me know what it would cost to fix it. Today, 6 weeks later I get a registered letter telling me it is going to cost over $1800.00 to fix the car and 3 days rental for a car to replace theirs while they get their car fixed and the estimate he sent me is for everything from the front bumper and signal light to the rear passanger door. Now I am a little pissed, in a way it was my fault, when I started to back out he wasn't there, I turned and looked to the other side to make sure no one was coming and he was there. I wasn't doing 1/2 a mile an hour. There is a scratch on my bumper about 4" long and there was no other damage to his car except to the passanger door and mirror (it got bent slightly). He was very adament at the time that it wouldn't really be necessary to contact the insurance company because the repairs wouldn't cost that much, now he wants me to pay over $1800.00 to fix his car. I know he is trying to pull a fast one on me and my first reaction is to tell him this is fraud but what are my legal responsibilities here and how should I handle it?

I guess it is one of the disadvantages of being old, I still believe a man's word is his bond and a hand shake is better than any written contract. It use to be that was the way things were done, saddly that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Natural gas; you pay what ever they tell you you are going to pay and you have no options, at least with propane you can negotiate with different suppliers. I was able to negotiate a $0.05 a liter discount and free annual service of all my propane appliances. I also check my propane cost against other suppliers to make sure I am getting a fair price and so far, so good. I just got filled up on Wed. and my price was $1.079.

So, ok, there was nothing in the information that I received telling me that they were going to be able to control the temperature in my home! It all sounded like they were just going to put in a programable thermostat for me so that I could save myself some money! As with so many of these goverment programs, the better they tell you it is going to be for you, the worse it is really going to be. I figured there had to be a catch of some sort.

Got a flyer with my hydro bill, get a free programable thermostat worth $250.00 installed for free if you sign up for this "Peak Saver Plus" program. Have any of you done it? What is the catch, there has to be one?

At 12 I couldn't believe how dumb most adults were. At 21 I couldn't believe how much they had learned!

They already do tax us on the water we pump out of our wells and if you have a septic system you get taxed on that too. When MPAC did our assesments a couple of years ago I went through mine, my property was assessed and extra $7500.00 because I had a well and $15000.00 because I have a septic system + an extra $1200.00 for every liner foot of shore line. Yup, put my taxes up almost 25%.

I have been working since I was 15 years old, sometimes two jobs, raised a family, went back to school and upgraded my education and never once drew welefare or used a food bank. I have paid my taxes and paid my dues for all of those years and today at 68 I qualify for just over $1000.00 a month in penson. Now I hear a lot of people saying you have to plan to take care of yourself when it is time to retire. I look back and I see that I work at least 7 out of the 12 months in a year just to pay my taxes. Lets take another look at this, in the last 53 years I have worked 30.92 of those years just to pay taxes. I have spent more than half of my life working just to pay my and on top of that I am expected to plan to take care of myself for the next 14 years? You can be sure I will do it because I am a survivor but I worry about my friends that have worked as hard as I did and perhaps didn't end up as luckey as I did. (and I know of a few) I wasn't one of the fortunate ones (or smart enough) to take a job as a cop, teacher, firefighter or one of those other jobs where I could end up getting a cushy pension. Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying that any of the above jobs don't deserve a good pension, I have nothing but respect for those that have given their lives to those professions. What I am saying is what about those farmers that worked long hours to feed the rest of us. What about the people that worked in support industries to make sure that others prospered, what about the little guy, the book keepers that took jobs so they could feed their families and make someone else rich? They also gave up better than half their working lives to pay taxes and now, they have to live on pensions of $1000.00 a month or less? does that seem right to you?

If you don't have one, where are you going to get the money to put one in? It isn't just the cost of the stove but you need a proper chimney, your home insurance can go up quite a bit, and there is still the cost of the wood. if you are older and not very mobile just trying to get out to the wood pile and hauling it in the house can be a big challange. It is an option but not a very viable one in many cases.

We are ok but I know several people that don't have the resources we do and with the propane prices going through the roof and this being an extreemly cold winter I know that some people on fixed incomes are in a position where they have a choice, do without food or do without heat. I just got off the phone with our local MPPs Laurie Scott's office and was told there is no provincial programs in place to help those in need and there is nothing in the near future. I was told to call the United Way they might be able to pay a bill or two. Now I am angry, there is no real reason for the cost of propane to have gone up by more than 100% in the past year, apparently propane prices are unregulated but in the last few years there have been all kinds of incentives for people to switch from electric to high efficiency propane systems so many of us did. Now we are in a position where we don't have a choice. I find it strange that a country like Canada can send billions of $ to help other countries in need, our politicians can give themselves raises and lavish pensions and the people that worked their whole lives in this country and paid their taxes can be literly left out in the cold! There must be something we can do but what?

X2 Sue and I spent 4 years looking for our retirement waterfront dream home. We chose to be on Sturgeon Lake because of the proximity to the hospital and Sue's heart condition and many of the other factors listed above. We are at that point where swimming isn't a big deal for us anymore but it is still nice to be on the water and waterfront property is a good investment (with very few exceptions they just aren't making any more of it). If you do decide to come up this way, there are a lot more factors that you need to take into consideration; septic systems, wells (flow, recovery, water condition) and I'd be happy to sit down with you and share some of what we have learned! It is an important decision, just make sure you have all the facts and consider the future. Good luck!

Been there, done that, would never do it again!!!!!! Listen to your wife, go find something that is finished and ready to move into, both of you will be much happier in the long run. If your idea is to make some extra cash, pick up some extra jobs outside of your home, even if you only work one extra day a week you should be able to pocket an extra $400.00 to $800.00 a month which would go a long way toward buying a nicer house. Take at least one day a week for yourself and go fishing or whatever turns your crank (make it part of the deal with your wife, you'll do it her way if she'll agree that you get one day a week to just do what you want to do)! Sit on the deck and drink beer, watch the game, just hang out, whatever! If you do convince your wife to go your route, you will never have a single day for yourself (believe me your wife will be on your case to get it done and a day fishing won't be worth the nagging). Even if she doesn't nag, you'll always feel like you should be working at something! You will always be broke (every cent you bring home will be spent on materials and fixtures and by the time you get the last project finished it will be time to start at the beginning again).