firefrog

Hi Well I just had all the windows done in my house. I wasn't too impressed with their work. I won't say who they were but they have won the consumers' choice award for many years now. I should have gone with Greg Martineau, who a friend recommended. Cheers.

Hey I have the definitive solution: hookless fishing. Bragging rights go to those with the highest number of strikes. Cheers. - Waiting for the moon to turn blue

Well....... Talk about a segue. I just happened to bump into Professor Wordsworth, the etymologist, in the bathroom. We had a cross-stall chat and he informed me that we really should be concerned about the Venutians. This is getting bigger than I ever intended. I'm having trouble sleeping.

You know.................... They should change the name of our fourth planet from Mars to Mart. That way there would be no confusion as to the spelling of the inhabitants' name, the Martians. Not trying to change the universe, just my little corner of it.

Hello There is nothing clean about coal. The term 'clean coal' should rather be 'cleaner coal'. It also refers to the overall process, from mining to recaptuing gases and fly ash. As with all research, people find bits and pieces of information, take it out of context, and use it to their advantage. It's kinda like saying electric cars pollute less than gasoline cars. But if the only source of electricity is coal generators, the overall picture isn't so pretty. You can't really get something for nothing. What you gain in one respect (say, cheap available heat), you lose somewhere else (more pollution, hazardous waste disposal). It's tempting to throw your arms in the air and say 'nothing makes any difference'. But that's not the answer. We have to keep trying. Cheers

It's not that he's THAT drunk. Problem is, the ground is moving too fast. Cheers

Grain elevators in the 60s The town I lived in bought two after theirs burned down. Quite a sight seeing these things on the road. They could only use the highway for short lengths due to overpasses. Took 2 Kenworths to pull them(one at a time, of course) - 10 mph. They said they weighed 300 tons each. School, business, everything stopped so people could see these things coming into town. Withing 10 years they were torn down - lack of business. Hindsight.

Hey Santa I was just kidding last year about the 2 front teeth, yeesh..................................gross! Also, I don't mind if you use the can again, but push the button on the right OK? Oh, and this year, you know the 'thing' I ordered? Can you make sure the box is unmarked? - just in case the kids accidentally rip the wrapping paper off. Little different this time around, I'm gonna leave you out some Cachaca and sushi. You have a great time. Thanks so much! Cheers

Hey Dandelions are actually quiet useful. Technically, we could harvest and use them (innovative solution) - that is if most of them weren't already sprayed and contaminated (nice try). Have I tried? Yes. But alas, it's time consuming and I can only use so many. Can you imagine anyone spraying to control tomatoes? Non-native? Most lawn grass, especially golf course grasses are non-native. Personally, I'd like to see more native vegitation everywhere. But there's got to be a better way than 'shooting the dog to get rid of the fleas'. Why do we think this way sometimes? Cheers

Seasons Greetings Calgary' s city council recently brought up the issue of banning pesticides. Half of council jumped right into action by devising a totally useless plan. Perfect politics - they can say they tried to do something about it to please half of the people, but won't upset the rest because they wouldn't really be affected by it anyways. Actually I'm glad they shot down the plan before any more taxpayers' money was wasted. Our governments weasle out of the issue almost entirely by saying that pesticides pose no health risk when used as directed. Brilliant. That's like saying if you drive your car carefully, you won't get into an accident. Factual statements, to be sure, but absolutely removed from reality. Do you believe proper storage, handling, dilution and application procedures are always followed? Sometimes followed? Rarely followed? Totally ignored? I have yet to see any of my neighbours do things properly. And what of the presently-unknown or not-fully understood affects to the environment? (even when properly used) You may have guessed by now that I'm not a fan of pesticides. I know there are situations when they are certainly necessary. But they are seen as a panacea by too many. Alternative and innovative approaches = more work. So what to do about them? Nothing? What's a good plan? It seems to me that trying to enforce bylaws against individuals would be an enourmous, unfair, and ineffective measure. Total bans? Ain't gonna happen. Politics, economics, so-called rights, yada yada. Targetting the retailers would seem to be much more cost and effort-effective. Why not only allow the sale of diluted, storage and application-ready products? PPE would still be needed, but this might keep Uncle Gomer from ignorantly contaminating the neighbourhood. I'm not perfect myself, but I hate to see my world turned into chemical soup.

'Why is packaged vegetarian cuisine made to look, smell and taste like meat?' Point. And in doing so they process the livin' bejesus out of it. Maybe they figure if it's going to be not-so-healthy after all, might as well make it look like something they hate. Double guilt theory - makes it OK somehow. I wonder if vegans have these types of running jokes about carnis and omnis. Eat!

Hello Well it's December and that usually means Christmas is soon. My wish list: 1 - I wish they would stop putting coloring in fresh beef and cheddar cheese. Meat is never THAT red and milk is never orange. They will probably discover these additives cause ___________ cancer. 2 - I wish they would reduce the speed limit (then enforce it like Nazis) on the Deerfoot to reduce deaths and accidents. Ever drive the Whitemud in Edmonton? 80km/h. It is definitely not a white-knuckle ride. 3 - I wish I could find a good family physician. Then I wish I didn't have to wait for months for any special services. Add your wishes to the list. Maybe Santa will be reading the FFC forums this year. Cheers

Hey again Good stories. I could read this kind of stuff forever. Gotta believe in 'life force' or whatever you want to call it. After all, isn't there some kind of magic there? Something allows a bunch of chemicals to come together and form life, intelligence, emotions, communication, etc. I wonder if, in a few hundred years from now, they track down these energies, explain and prove them, and put them to other uses. How many other new frontiers are there? Boggles my feeble mind. Cheers

So I work nightshifts sometimes and google some pretty bizarre things. Lately, I've been reading about ghosts - keeps me awake. Some fascinating stuff about subsonic frequency hallucinations, reflections, hoaxes, power of suggestion and so on (check out the hilarious studies of blindfolded subjects using Ouija boards). I'm quite skeptical myself, even though I want to come back as a firetruck. Many 'experts' debunk these events, but even acccepting their explanations, I still have questions: Why do people see ghosts that were living beings? Why not linoleum, or jawbreakers? How is it that different people can see the same apparition - even at different times? Assuming that some of these spirits do indeed 'exist', where do they get their energy from and how do they use it? What if we mere mortals could likewise harness these energies. Besides from being able to make bitchin horror movies, think of the things we could do! Do I spend too much time goofing off at work? Anyways, I don't expect definitive explanations or answers to these questions. Some discussion would be cool, though. What I really want is to hear from someone who has seen a ghost or has some first-hand experience. I want to believe. Cheers.

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Sundance We got 2 American Standard 3/6L dual flush. They work well and no problems after 2 years. But as already mentioned, they have to be cleaned twice as often. It has to do with the level of the water at the bottom. Cheers, ........... I mean flushes.

Hello Interesting circus show. I remember Y2K and West Nile. Our governments spent a lot of money on these. Now, I don't know how dangerous H1N1 is. But I do know more people die from auto accidents and cancer (probably bee stings and allergies too - just guessing here). I don't see the fanfare to reduce the toll of these tragedies. Why do we accept these things as not-so-unusual or fact-of-life? Human nature, I guess. I'll never be able to figure out the things people get upset about (myself included). I HAVE figured out that wherever there is publicity, there are people making money. What a shame....... in this case. I know.......... aren't I just a ray of sunshine. Cheers

Hey What is it with some people and their shopping carts? You know the ones............ they stop right in the middle of the aisle and lollygag like they're royalty or something. Do they not know there are other people around them? Are they heavily medicated? Are they mean? Do they just not care? Are they trying to get even with the random campers? I have a theory that these are the same people that don't use their signal lights when driving, but I don't know for sure. I once saw a rude fella that had a good solution. He was behind one such dolt and said loudly 'That's OK, I'll just go around!' I wanted to give him high fives. So I figure there must be a few of these shopping maniacs on this forum. Please enlighten us. Why do you do this? Cheers

Hello A few weeks ago I was fishing on the west shore of Elbow Lake. At that time I noticed a strange smell. It was very similar to acetone. At first I thought it was my fishing gear or the local vegetation or something. Then just yesterday, I was out there again. Same thing. This time I kept a couple brookies to eat. When I got them home, I realized that even the fish had that smell! Now I'm concerned. So, has anybody else been there lately and noticed this? Another question: does anyone know if there was ever a sawmill or lumber treatment site at this lake? Google doesn't help much, and I have librarphobia (fear of books). Cheers

Hello A few thoughts. Who remembers when the operation of the campgrounds was contracted out and camping fees were introduced? Many were screaming that this would happen. Well, guess what. Would going back to free campgrounds (and more of them) help things any? It would be more expensive, but dealing with the present mess is too. The government has made our health premiums free, so why not camping? Not too sure that closing an area would help without a lot more enforcement. Whitegoat and Siffleur are examples where there are infractions and they get away with it. So, discussion is good and the information is valuable. There's something we can from our computers. Ted Morton is the minister of Sustainable Resources Development http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p...&rnumber=53 Cindy Ady is the minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation http://www.cindyady.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=64 Yes, they have heard all this bitching before. That's no reason to let up. How long does a squeeky wheel scream before it's fixed? I don't know. Let's find out! I have contacted them and let them know about our forum and discussions. Please do the same with your suggestions. Cheers

Hey Thanks for the tips, folks. Yeah good film developing is going to get more expensive. Also, easier to carry around a memory stick than a photo album. I use my camera for everything - hiking, vacation, events, people shots. Don't want to go really high end, but want good stuff, hence the 50D. Read all about the small sensor and high pixel debate. Not going to wade into that one. Hoping that I won't be upgrading every 3-4 years, like these damn computers. Cheers

Hey I've been sticking with my film cameras because digital couldn't match the quality - especially with moving subjects. But lately, the film developing has been pathetic. It seems nobody can do a good job of this any more. I see smudges, fading, lint, and general uneven quality. No, it's not my equipment. Gotta bite the bullet and get rid of my old stuff and buy new. The unit I need is the Canon D50. Anybody use this camera? What's the best lens to start with? Seems there's several packages to choose from. It's a lot of cash so I want to be sure. Thanks

Hello We love Original Joe's near Avenida. Good food, good price, happy hours, nice & clean. Cheers

Well, I'm actually a frog that's been burning for a while.

Hi Lamp I used to fish Threepoint quite a bit. I noticed what you observed too - especially upstream. I found that fishing was only good early in the season. The big ones seem to move on (downstream?) and for the rest of the summer the levels were low and there was only smallish fish there. I like the smaller streams also. Flat creek might appeal to you. Cheers