Bernie

Agreed. Well done sir.

Yep. Seen a few sagged over today. Might be another year of stuff drifting into my shoreline after the ice melts in spring.

Just got off the lake at Wades Landing. Lots of holes developing where the water is running down now. I didn't stop to check how thick it was but it's pretty soft. Glad it is supposed to cool off, a couple more days of this and I'd be boating in January.

Not going this year. We sent down a new cedar boat with a Honda on it for the fellows at the Honda display. Also sent down an old Scott Atwater 22hp.

I'm with ya Dave. Hard to look at right now. Hopefully we get something similar to the old "Club" style.

Neither one is perfect, nor is a Chev. Or anything else for that matter. They all need servicing at some point. The Ford is generally more reliable from what I see come through my shop.

Running the NHL like a business is fine. But to rake the fans over the coals again and again isn't right. They don't give two hoots about the fans. The Leaf organization is a great example. The building is always sold out. They sell team sweaters and trinkets. But they don't ever try to build a winning team. Money is first, not the fans. I refuse to buy into this huge scam. It doesn't cost anything to watch on TV, but that is now over as well for me. If the players ever decide that the fans are why they are there are worth playing for with more verve and the owners develop a better team, I'll maybe take a peek again. Until then, piss off!

Ha! Don't make me outbid ya Ernie!

One way or another, it's going to cost you to do anything but walk. As Art has said, the older vehicles had their issues too. Remember having to stick a screwdriver down the carb to keep the choke open on cold days? And lots of cars billowing black smoke going down the road. Doing valve jobs and tune ups. They could build an indestructible car, but it would be crazy priced and put an auto industry out of work. Been fixing stuff for a long time. It was the same thing back then too.

Have had two Golden Retrievers. Both have been excellent. The only issue for some is the hair. Randy is likely looking at the Golden Doodle because of that.

Just checked with my supplier for the control arm assembly. It is available. Mevotech MS40147 left side MS40148 right side. B joint + oil change + alignment in my shop taxes in would have been 534.49.

Had a few close encounters. The first one was a good many years ago. I was 14 and out for a partridge hunt at the hunt camp during the Thanksgiving weekend. Walking the trail, I came along a small but steep section of the path, my head down as I chugged up. When I reached the top and my head came up I was face to face with a bull moose. Holy Crap!! Being young, and inexperienced, turned tail and ran. The next day my dad was out doing the same thing. The same thing happened to him, but stood his ground. He held his shotgun barrel right up the the face of the moose and waited for it to turn around. The standoff continued for quite some time. Dad won, the moose turned away. The next one occurred 4 or 5 years ago while deer hunting. I was on a watch waiting for the doggers to come through. I usually scan the bush well while on a watch. I turned for a look behind me and seen a bear running. It was coming somewhat towards me. My first thought was to grab my camera and take a movie. I just got it out of my pocket and the bear then changed direction directly to me. To hell with the camera, dropped it and picked up my rifle, turned the safety off and was about to pull the trigger when it stopped so suddenly it rolled over itself, turned away and ran off. I was shaking...Cool experience, wish I had of stayed with the camera. A couple years ago, again on a watch I spied a martin searching through the brush, slowly heading my direction. I stood stock still and waited (no camera dang it). He ended up about two feet away when I suddenly shuffled to let him know I was there. He went straight up a small tree in front of me and snarled ferociously. Those things have some serious teeth. I backed off a little to allow him to get back down the tree. He was making an awful racket and knew it would scare off any deer that may come out. Cool to see though.

Great fishing guys! Heard through the grapevine there is a big fish shack needing rescue out of the lake today. So the ice is a little thin in spots yet. Be careful out there.

Just chatted with Jim. He thinks it is mounted forward of the rewind starter and down low. Almost under the engine. Regulator rectifier.

Gerritt. What is the machine? I'll ask the guys where it is.

Glad you fellas liked that. Had a wonderful Christmas Joe. Hope you did too. Nip, I used Kiltylake on another board. Think it was Ontario Out of Doors. Maybe that's where you seen it. Kilty Lake is the lake our hunt camp is on.

Last night my brothers and I recorded dads old home movies. This excerpt was interesting, thought I'd share it here. This group of fellows includes my dad (taking the movie), uncles and friends of our family. The truck belonged to a family friend. We recorded this off the screen, so there are some comments along with the video from the peanut gallery.

Hello Mike. Arts suggestion to check alternator output is a good one to begin. Also make sure the drive belt is in good condition and not slipping. Alternators take a lot of energy to turn when energized. If the belt slips, low power output. One of the 3 fields in the alternator not functioning can cause your symptoms as well. Especially if you only drive it for 10 minutes. Next is a battery parasitic drain. Use an ammeter. This will tell you if there is a drain on the system. You will need to let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes after shutting it off and closing all the doors. It takes this long for all the computer systems to shut down. It should not be over 30 milliamps. If it is, like the guys said, start pulling fuses until it's gone. Then you will have eliminated a lot of the circuits and home in on the culprit. You did not mention the year of your Ford. Early 2000 models had issues with windshield leaks on to the body control computer under the left side of the dash. Lots of weird symptoms. If you have a 7 pin trailer plug, there is one that is always positive hot. Make sure there is no corrosion around or inside the plug. I have one at my shop right now that has been driving me nuts. Similar symptoms to yours. If it sits for a week it kills the battery. Had it for 2 weeks and it just acted up last Friday when I noticed the park lights blinking. I could hear a relay inside the cab. Of course it was locked. When I unlocked the door, the symptoms went away and I'm almost back to square one. Gives me a clue though.

If you want to play Joe, you will need to bring an acoustic bass. O ya, no heat in your "special place" either.

The more I think about it, the more I want to go to alternative energy. Last summer, just for fun I hooked up a small solar panel to a battery and used it to power a small water pump capable of a 30 ft head to fill a barrel for watering the garden. It worked quite well. It got me thinking that if this barrel was mounted up about 10 ft higher it would also work for all my water supply. We managed to keep our propane fill station (after doing all the legal wrangling) so propane is easily available. So eliminating the water pump, electric water heater, electric stove and the fridge the power demand would be greatly reduced. Having the knowledge and tools, I think I could make a wind generator (it would be fun to do anyway), hook up some solar stuff and away we go.

About a month ago I heard there was a power outage in the area of the cottage. I understood it had been restored. I was talking to a friend who lives out on an island nearby today to find out how the ice conditions were and if he could give me a ride over in the airboat if the ice was still too thin to go out for New Years. He mentioned that I should verify if I had electricity first as there were still some cottages without power. Apparently there is a break in an underwater cable. So after searching the website and looking to find a phone number I dialed in. Got the regular hit 1 hit 2 deal, then enter phone number at address. It kept coming up with the wrong address. Frustration #1. So I then look for a number with a real person to talk to. Still, hit 1 hit 2....then finally, someone live. Tell them what I'm looking for.....hold please.....dum dee dum dum..... OK, some one answers. Tell them my story. "Sorry sir, that address was an old one and not updated...." "No sir, you do not have hydro. It is listed as being restored by February 15, 2013." ( I wonder at this point how they will fix it with ice over the cable). Frustration #2. I ask if Hydro will not be sending me a bill for services not rendered. "Yes sir, you will continue to be billed, but not for hydro used" (Obviously) I ask if I will be billed for delivery. (somehow I know the answer already) "Yes sir, you will continue to be billed delivery" Frustration #3. Knowing the person answering my questions is not responsible for this I make a quick comment about it and thank her for looking it up. I am so ready to go solar/wind at this point. Does anybody really dislike hydromuchlessthanone as much as me right now?

I love the touches you make to your craft-work Chris. Every time I pick up the one's you have made for me I think of the work you have put into them. Thank you!

When I was a kid growing up through the 60's and 70's all the tourist camps were full of fishermen on the South Bay. Nipissing lodge, Tom Rae Lodge, Promised Land Camps, Pipers camp, Rockview, plus the ones around the corner from me, Sunlit Bay, Bear Creek Cottages. You often had difficulty navigating across the bays for boats. They caught fish. Now, there is a bit of a rush opening weekend, but after that, it's nothing compared to what it once was. There were fish huts back then too. Most were avid fishermen and the huts were in use most every weekend. Often with their wives and kids. Still, the fishing remained good. Now, many of the ice huts remain unoccupied and if they are, it's an excuse for a party. Yes there are still some serious fishermen as well in them. I hated fishing when I was a kid, did it all the time as mom and dad loved it. They still do. When I got the fishing bug again through the 1980's and 90's I never had any difficulty catching pickerel. Had two or three favorite places to go and never had a problem. Then it happened. When the pickerel population was lowered in the French River, the nets started appearing up at this end of the lake. Guess what..... Ya, had to go further and fish longer to get a feed for the plate. Now it's good if you happen to run across three or four. Many times skunked.

Concessions have been made over the past few years. Reduction from 6 to 4. Didn't help. Slot size introduced. Didn't help. Restocking programs, still the numbers are less. Now the limit reduced to 2. Think it will help? It's time other options are presented. You all know what they are.