Castuserraticus

"To reduce the the incentive of illegal stocking the retention of pike and perch in waters stocked with trout or grayling is illegal unless specified in water body specific regulations." If transportation between water bodies is already illegal what is this going to do? Are these enlightened individuals who are doing the illegal stocking going to stop because they would now be harvesting illegally? It will make legitimate licensed anglers vulnerable to fines and confiscation of gear.

Nobody can spend their way to prosperity - especially with borrowed money. Depends which expert... By taking the advice of the experts I follow, we only lost ~17%. The loss was because I kept a portion invested in stuff that was being hyped by other "experts" and did not follow my intuition. I used to (successfully) target an investment return of at least 15%/year. Now I'm happy with 5%. Some simple math shows why. When asset prices are falling by 5-10% per year, my 5% positive return is equivalent to 15% growth in spending power. I believe prices will go sideways at best and likely continue to fall. On that note, if you think boats are cheap now wait a year or so. What was the price of a boat in the 1980's? There may be a short term market rally this year but don't hold your breath for a return to anywhere near the peak market valuations of everything for many years - until the world's balance sheets are restored to health. This will require companies and people to save. If you're loosing sleep over whether to spend then don't. Nobody looses sleep over having money in the bank - at least in Canada.

Getting older is better than the only other alternative. A friend the same age as you and I told me a similar skiing story recently. Scientifically, it can be attributed somewhat to lack of practice. My friend, like many of us, was just generally more active in the past. Our brain is adaptable (neuroplasticity). When we are active, the balance controllers get lots of stimulation and are strengthened. Sitting in front of a computer 6-10 hrs a day allows them to atrophy. Quit work and ski full time and the problem will likely go away. Our life stories are very similar. I sometimes think wistfully of the "good old days" when I was younger and much more active. However, I know in 10-20 years that today will be one of the good old days. I no longer play hockey with the boundless energy of 10 years ago. Now I revel in playing better positionally, putting a laser beam pass onto the tape of a breaking forward, and hearing from the younger guys that I'm pretty quick "for a guy your age". On our recent vacation to Costa Rica I didn't once dive into the sand to dig out a shot in beach volleyball but I could still run with the young guys in soccer - for a while anyway. Yesterday I got out fishing for the first time this year. The stress of the economy and uncertainty about the future of my own small company had kept me bound to my desk. Walking along the river on the irregular terrain of untracked snow and ice was tiring. A few times I broke through unseen crusts into cavities of unknown depth. I wondered if there was cell reception in case I slipped into something and cracked a bone. My upper back muscles were tired and sore after waving a 5wt rod for 4 hours. I had to claw my way up the steep path from the river to my truck. It was a great day. I landed 4 rainbows of 6 hookups. All were strong fighters. The last one, never seen, simply swam away effortlessly until the hook released. This first trip was a bit of a frenzy. I didn't really stop to drink in the scenery or admire the colouration of the fish. I just wanted to fish. Part of this is attributable to age. There's about a 20 year period in my life where I fished rarely. Although the desire was always there, other priorities were higher - school, work, marriage, kids. Starting again was a conscious and selfish decision. Now each trip is precious because there aren't many of them. I am trying to cram 20 years of learning into a few years but I think I can do it because I'm a more conscious student than I used to be. I now recognize the vast amount of knowledge available to those who ask and I actively seek out answers.

Had the same thing happen with a little rainbow on the Highwood. The bull followed the little guy just about onto the gravel and waited a foot or so offshore while I released the 'bow. When the bow appeared healthy, the bull just sank back down into the pool. Very cool to see it.

And a strange thing is many of the tatoo'd/pierced/branded/decorated youngsters will grow into adults who will counsel their own kids against such behaviour just like us middle aged folks tell our kids not to make the mistakes we made.

I have an avid interest in finance, economics, and the markets and follow a number of different analysts. I have no optimism about an economic recovery for several years. I think the best case scenario is a prolonged sideways trend from here. My worst case is real black. If you think boats are cheap now, wait a year or so. I have my own little company and will have to consider firing myself in the next couple of months if my projections are correct. So far the market has collapsed ahead of the schedule I projected. Despite that, I am still optimistic about the future. We can individually decide how we react to this situation. I believe my skills are marketable and that I will find or create opportunities to apply them. I strongly feel my family will be OK. That certainly doesn't mean I'm going to make large purchases. A cash cushion will be very important for next few years.

Agreed How the h$#% does something like that become popular enough to actually get named?

I have plans and a prototype built of a wooden pontoon using tortured plywood rather than strip. The construction got somewhat stalled due to my skill level. I like the hardshell because everything can fit inside the hull so less wind resistance and stuff to catch the line on. Maybe this spring I can finally finish it. The biggest problem was developing a releasable system for the pontoons so the boat could be broken down for transport. Pisces - the flat hull design may be problematic for maneuverability but it should track well - good for trolling but not so good for moving water.

For me the decider is the driving to fun ratio. I enjoy hiking and usually do a pretty quick pace so a 20km day is not a big deal. I dread the drive more than the hike. A qualifier is that it has to be a hike rather than a bushwhack. I tend to loose my enthusiasm after just a few km of climbing over and under dead fall.

Wrap a hot rag around the female section. Thermal expansion might make it looser.

Look into nutrition based treatments. Dr. Bruce Hoffman is a MD in Calgary. His practice is almost entirely based on nutrition. His nutritional plans are based on extensive scientific, biochemical testing. He has helped my family and several friends with chronic conditions, put their conditions into complete remission through changes in diet. I am uncertain about his record with diabetes but I know his treatments are effective for Meniere's disease, inflamatory bowel disease, acid reflux, lupus, and arthiritis. Compared to the potential side affects of many pharmaceuticals, the initial inconvenience of nutritional change is minor. Conventional medical treatment = conventional results.

I suspect another Canadian company will get it's @ss spanked by venturing south. They probably think we're near the bottom of the recession.

Born and raised Albertan and while I love this place I really like the Fernie area - milder climate, lots of amenities but still a small town.

Hijack Who do you tech types recommend using to register a domain name? Thanx Unjacked

Great imagery.

My fishing buddy Norm is also a master cabinet maker with over 20 years of experience in both commercial and residential. PM me for his number. He's been pretty busy but I believe he has a time window available as he was just able to do a small job for me.

There once was a rainbow from Cal-gary Who made a wish to the trout fairy I wish I could inja The Bow River ninja You know, the one that is so hairy

You can easily fish several holes per day.

too bad I'm 48 with not enough money

I don't enjoy the trips where I seem to spend more time retying than fishing. It's good to know I have company. Another frustration is regularly losing flies when it's your turn to fish while your buddy fishes the same fly all day while you're on the oars.

For people who are strongly dominant on one side there's more to it than just the mechanics. The muscles are not likely symmetrical in strength. You'll be looking forward to some pain until you can get the other side strengthened. I've tried using my other arm occasionally. I had to concentrate so hard I end up sweating. The left side muscles ended up getting knotted from the intense concentration. My right side is easy and relaxed. Trying to duplicate the fine motor skills to control the rod tip were the hardest.

Now Taco can feel young and connected

What's facebook?

Parenting has to be one of the weirdest jobs on the planet. A couple of inexperienced, hormone charged, starry-eyed dreamers, who have no idea what they're really in for, are given sole responsibility for the upbringing of an infant that is only interested in it's own primal urges for the next 18 to 50+ years (or until it becomes a parent). Every generation of parents in history has believed that the younger generation is bent on self destruction. Tag - it's your turn now. A guy on my hockey team had to charge his 14 year old daughter for insurance purposes. Two weeks after getting her learner's license, she took Dad's Acura out for a joy ride. She didn't make it 2 blocks before she hit a tree. She's now a responsible young adult.

"Life will find a way." - Jurassic Park The success history of the use of toxins looks to be abysmal. And I'll bet each time it's used they figured they had the bugs worked out from the last time it was tried. The likely problem is incomplete dispersion of the poison. There is no way this can be modeled without extremely detailed, expensive studies. People mistakenly look at a lake as a static body of water and this is far from the truth. It is merely the miniscule visible aspect of the immense groundwater system that is everywhere in Alberta. And groundwater is always moving - usually very slowly but high permability lenses in the soil can act as conduits (springs). We're blaming physical human transplantation. There are natural forces that could cause the "spontaneous" appearance of species. Nobody ever has to seed a new water body with aquatic vegetation. When a roadside borrow pit is dug, it only takes a few years for a normal aquatic vegetation community to become established. When water fowl are dappling and stirring up the bottom, pretty well anything from the water could cling to their feet or other parts of their body and be transported to it's next resting/feeding place. How many viable perch eggs would it take to populate a lake? Maybe we can create some high quality perch/pike/walleye fisheries - sharks on the fly. If we create a suitable habitat, life will find a way there.