reevesr1

Has she ever spoken the truth? And if my Prime Minister was Stephen Harper, don't know that I'd go casting stones......

Thanks Dave! Nice to see those moderator powers being used for good.

Rick, Forgive our friend Birchy. He has a hair trigger and seems incapable of just letting things go. I've tried to counsel (I was going to say council, but I didn't think anyone would get me) him to no avail.

You know what would be awesome? If Fox News and Sun Media could get in a war and mutually annihilate each other (metaphorically spoeaking, I'm not advocating actual war here). The level of discourse in both countries would then measurably improve.

Thanks for reminding me that kids are affected by war. I only spent 8 yrs in the military, so I forgot. Your connotation here is "Americans" are laughing at you. Not a stupid comedian on a BS 3 am show on a second (or maybe 3rd) rate news network. So as an American, I responded. Yeah, we only lost 416,000 lives in that one. Hardly worth mentioning. They were probably all brought in kicking and screaming. My point is, you want to be mad at the show, be my guest. What they said was reprehensible. But you then took several shots at American's in general. I think that was unnecessary. Edit: Here are a couple of quotes from your countrymen I found on a thread talking about this very subject: I suppose constitition is constitution, but I'm not sure. I think those were peasants that we lost to, but again, I'm not sure. Anyway, looks like you guys have your share of idiots as well.

Fox News Red Eye? Hardly a credible source of anything approaching real news or opinion. Come on Sun. It would be like us (Americans) sending off emails to "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" because Rick Mercer made fun of us being stupid. From what I saw, the show (Fox Red Eye) was basically a comedy show, albeit in really bad taste. No thinking person thinks Canada has no army or is shirking their efforts in Afghanistan. And I take MASSIVE exception to the thought that Americans are laughing in the face of Canadians. Some stupid people on Fox News Red Eye perhaps, but not Americans in general.

I had a friend who used to say "for all intensive purposes." I never corrected him, but giggled a little inside every time.

I'm not so sure about that. How do we know it wouldn't be worse? The worst economic crises were the Great Depression in the 30s and there was a crash in the 1880s or 90s that were both worse than this is projected to be. Much less media around then. There was mass panic then too. Probably worse than now. In some ways, the media striking fear in us is good. If it helps people get their debt under control, that is good. You can also use fear to your advantage as an investor. As Mr. Buffet says, when everyone else is selling, buy.

The others:

A little bigger buddy. Awswome by the way.

Brad, Extended warranties are a money maker for the company selling the warranty. That's all I really need to know. Of course things can fail that are covered by an extended. But you will come out ahaed in the end, overall, if you never buy one.

Steve, I did some work on reliability issues at one of our product centers, ie, how and why products fail and how to design/test to limit those failures. One thing I learned is extended warranties are a bad buy. Failure curves for electronics follow the "bathtub" curve. High failure rates initially, say in the first year (called infant mortality, which is typically covered by the initial warranty period), followed by a long period of essentially flat, and low, failure rate. Then failure rates go up significantly as the product reaches end of life (this curve was developed by studying human mortality. Works on most things!). Lots of people will tell you stories about how extended warranties saved them x amount of money. Undoubtedly true. People win the lottery too, both are bad gambles. You are better off to never buy an extended warranty on any electronic item. You will almost assuredly save money in the long run. Almost.

The one that got away is a BIG part of this game to me. And I love what Headscan said about rooting for the fish. I've never thought of it in that exact way, but I have said "come one buddy, do something" to big fish before. Quite often, when they do decide to "do something", they get the better of me. So be it. To me, one of the greatest thrills is when a big fish gets way out to the river, and I get him back. Mostly, when they get out there, I don't get them back. Again, so be it. I usually let out a groan of frustration, and that frustration may linger for a bit. But the thrill of landing a big fish that raises hell far, far outweighs that frustration. I was out with troutlover one evening and hooked a big, big fish. We never got a look at him (it was dark), but I didn't need to to know he was huge. He dogged it for several minutes before deciding it was time to leave. He took me all the way through my backing and broke me off at the end. Like BBT said, I'm haunted by that fish, but really in a good way. It is a very good memory for me. The awe I felt after the break off will stick with me longer than maybe any fish I've ever hooked, or caught. It is the thrill of the unknown I guess.

My 16 yr old is in the process of obtaining his license, so I've been driving a lot with him lately. One of the hardest things for him to get his head around is what is the "point of no return" when approaching a yellow. I think the biggest problem is the goal of the yellow has changed over the years--from as a guide for when to safely stop to a tool telling you when to speed up to beat the red. While teaching Ben, I've been really paying attention to red light behavior, and it is pretty appalling. If the truth be known, I am fully in favor of red light camera's. I don't care if it is a cash grab or not. If it helps change behavior, I am all for it. I remember talking to a cop once about the rules for running a yellow. If you speed up to beat the yellow, it is a ticketable offense, whether you beat the yellow or not. These camera's will catch you if you do it. No problem with me. Hawg, I couldn't agree more on your point that the VAST majority of accidents are due to cars/passenger vehicles, proportionally more than the number of passenger vehicles to big trucks. Problem is that when a accident happens with a big rig, the results can be horrific and therefore get lots of press. This can give truckers in general an undeserved bad name. I really believe most thinking people are a bit immune to media sensationalism. Or at least I hope so

Jared, I gotta give you some books to read brother. Haig-Brown talks about them lots (BC). The River Why referenced above (Oregon, if I remember) also talks about them. Great book by the way. They are so pretty! I'd love to fish for them sometime.

I'm way too cheap for Simms, or Patagonia. I have a Wright and McGill waterproof jacket my wife got me for xmas. I think it is in the $200 range? Love it so far. Lots of big pockets. I fell in the river with it (near the bank, knee deep) and water did not get past the cuffs. http://www.wright-mcgill.com/index.php?fus...tWearBHJacketFe

SA=Southern Alberta. Should have realized you would confuse with South America. Best of luck on the trip! Try not to kill each other.

do they give coupons away in SA as well? I thought it was just Guam!

Saw a pontoon btwn 22X and Policeman's Friday.

Gord's method works great, but pay attention to your hands with respect to your guides. Last time I unstuck 2 sectioins using this method I also broke a guide.

Pulling the kids out of school on Thursday and heading up to Panorama. I sure hope the weatherman gets it right, cuz if so, it will be epic! http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Panorama/6day/top

BBT, My wife reads this forum from time to time. Don't know that I ever had a McDLT.

I was in Guam in 1985 or so, when I was stationed on a sub. Not many girls on Guam. Lots of men though. Young men. They have these, umm, houses where some men go to part with some of their hard earned money. Apparently the competition was pretty stiff (pun intended) between two of the houses. One of the houses started offering a coupon for a McDLT (hot side hot!) with each, ummm, purchase. Better than a cigarette I guess. By the way, 100% true story.

McGriddle's, or whatever they are called. Take a perfectly good Sausage and Egg McMuffin, put some kind of fat pancake thing on top injected with syrup, and call it breakfast. Nastiest thing ever. Anywhere.

Pretty brown brad!