TBow

This morning, my neighbor from across the road, came a knocking and woke me up at 11:00 a.m. I know! I know! Who in their right mind gets up before noon? Right? Well anywho, he was having a problem with what he decribed as "crows" in his backyard. He indicated that they wouldn't leave his yard and were constantly squawking and dropping white bombs in his pool, meaning he had to continually keep vacuming it all out. He said that he'd put out an owl decoy to try and scare off the birds, but wasn't having any luck. Knowing that I hunted, he wondered if I had a pellet rifle and would mind coming over and trying to whack a couple of them. I'm always excited to have a reason to break out the artillery, and this seemed right up my alley. So up to the man cave I went and cracked open the artillery safe. When I got to his backyard, I saw what he was calling crows was merely cackles, and I will agree they were pretty noisy. He said someone had told him that the owl decoy would keep the birds away. I just laughed and said that the owl decoy is what was probably making the birds so loud and was likely keeping them in his backyard. Owls are a natural enemy and adult crows, cackles and blackbirds will attack them with regularity to protect their nests and young until the owl departs the area. So as long as the decoy was there, they'd likely have to put up with annoying birds. Well not to let a good opportunity get by me to smack a few nuisance pests with the airgun, I loaded her up, and sat on the patio with the neighbors and waited for a clear shot. Finally one bird landed in a location where I had a good back stop and I squeezed off a shot. MISSED! Over the next hour I repeated three more misses, all at under 20 yards. Man I've got a 12X scope on this magnum airgun, and I couldn't touch a thing. So I asked the neighbor if he had a cardboard box that I could sight in on. I was about 5" low and 1" right. O.K. the next bird offered a 20 yard shot, so I aimed the approriate amount high and right, squeezed the trigger and VOILA......I missed again! "O.K", I said. "Time to put the pop gun away and just sit here on the patio, drink beer in the heat of the day, and we'll just clap our hands when they come around again!" Sounded like a plan to me. So this week coming, I'll be off to the the range to sight this bad boy in.....again, and I may even consider removing the 4X - 12X and go back to open sights. Broad side of barns beware. I'll be back on the war path later this week....with luck......and a pair of glasses! TBow

The way I look at, and guage all temeratures now is: "As long as it ain't -40 (C or F), I can live with it!" TBow

Tomorrow I'm going to a YMCA summer youth camp to do some archery instructing. The rest of the week I'll be working at home doing renovations. Hopefully by July 1st and or the weekend, I'll be able to kick back, have a few beer while bbqing and savor this thing they call retirement. Last year on July 1st, I was working in the arctic at a site on Ungava Bay. This is the first year in a good many that I will not be heading to the arctic. The guys from my old shop are there right now. In one sense, I kind'a miss the trips north, but then again, it'll be the 1st summer in about 14 years that I'll be able to enjoy the whole summer at home. TBow TBow

Thanks for the heads up Shaun. Just called mine in. TBow

I was at the rifle range sighting in my .50 cal in-line when it supposedly hit and I never noticed a thing. I guess I must have mistaken any earth shattering quivers for the rumblings of the .50 cal going off. I'm just about 60 miles south of Shaun and likely 100 miles from the reported epicenter of this recent 5 ranging quake. My daughter from Ottawa called me later that night and was talking about the quake. I slept through the last quake that also supposedly hit this area 7 or 8 years ago and I never noticed a thing then either. The only thing that I've actually ever felt in regards to earth shaking, was when the local Dupont plant (Maitland Works) had a hydrogen explosion about 10 years ago. It happened at around 5:00 a.m. in the morning, and I thought a truck had run into the front of my house and I'm about 3 miles from the plant. The shock wave was felt up to 15 miles away. It shattered virtually every window in the plant. Lucky no one was killed. TBow

Definition of "kids": What your parents hope you have so you have to suffer the same nightmarish, hair-pulling and sleepless nights that they suffered through while you were growing up during your brain-dead teen years! As soon as I found out what caused kids, I was able to put a stop to it! It just took me 14 years after marriage and 4 kids to sypher it all out! :jaw: Actually, I love my kids dearly and wouldn't have changed a thing, but the reference to those sleepless nights during their teen years is OH SO TRUE! TBow

I'm not so much a fan now as I used to be when I was kid back in the 60s. My absolute favorite wrestler of all time is Edouard Carpentier. He trained guys like Jean Ferre, or better known as Andre the Giant at 7' 4". A couple of the villians he used to fight were Mad Dog Vachon and Black Jack Mulligan. Ya I know it's all just entertainment and seen as fake, but I recalled watching a documentary on some of the older wrestlers. A guy that I'd have never figured for an actual and for real wrestler, was Mad Dog Vachon. In the ring, he seemed like the farthest thing from a wrestler you could imagine and his only claim to fame seemed to be his nasty low down dirty tricks like slipping something into his hand glove when he was down and out, or perhaps his apparent attempts to bite his opponents (all fake of course). But Mad Dog Vachon (Maurice Vachon) was an Olympic Wrestler in his weight class in London in 1948 and won a gold medal in the 1950 Commonwealth Games. He is also a member of the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame. Pretty impressive credentials for a "fake wrestler". TBow

NS w, Next month I will have been married for 40 years....and yes, to the same warden...er I mean woman! I offer you the following suggestion: "RRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!! SAVE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I have this funny feeling that your wife might be thinking of getting a new mouse pad that coincidentaly may very well look a lot like a 3D version of your profile, so: "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! TBow

Seems the only thing that I have a green thumb at, is cultivating a right fine crop of poison ivy! GADZOOKS!!!! I have a building lot with a river view of the St. Lawrence River, but I have an ongoing problem with an annual assault of the dreaded three leafed plant. I had hoped to spray for the weed this past weekend, but rain forecasts gave me reason for pause. It's best if there's no rain for a few days after spraying otherwise the precipitation just dilutes the spray and washes it away before it has time to do its dasturdly duty, calling for yet another spraying session. It's still calling for rain on Wednesday and possibly Thursday, so I'm still on hold. I'm also in the midst of some renovations at home that requires me to set up my woodworking tools outside in my backyard as I am void of a garage or workshop. So the rain, or at least the threat of rain, is holding me hostage. When that happens, I just go buy a local news rag, head to Timmies and sip away on a joe while catching up on current events. TBow

It has been my experience, or maybe it just seems like it, but everytime I get caught up on personal debt, or seem to be getting my financial house in order, everything just seems to break down to put me right back into a monetary disaray. So the lesson here is, stay absolutely broke all the time, and all your gear will stay working just fine! TBow

I have to laugh at the fuel mileage ratings they put on the window MSRP sticker on new vehicles on car lots. All the new full size pickups usually say 26 or so mpg. However, whenever I talk to any new truck owners they usually tell me they're lucky to get 17 or 18 mpg, with 14 or 15 usually the norm. The typical quote I get when I tell them the manufacturers call for 26 mpg is, "Ya right! Going down hill with a tail wind no doubt!". I was looking at buying a smaller sized pickup like the Ford Ranger, but even their fuel ratings are lousy. 17 or 18 mpg is about the max you can expect even with them. And if you plan on hauling a trailer of any sort, then their fuel ratings go right down the toilet. I did get some very promising reports about GMC's Duramax diesel ratings on their 2500 and 3500 series trucks. 20 to 22 mpg is very realistic for highway mileage from what I hear and with the fuel mod kits you can have installed for $500 or so, ratings of 24 to 27 seem to be attainable. Why in the world would I ever have considered a dinky toy truck like a Ranger or Sanoma or the like, when a full size truck that you don't have to space save in, is more economical to drive. Right now I'm driving a Dodge Ram Magnum with a 318 and mileage is terrible at 15 mpg give or take on a good day without a trailer behind me. Put my atv trailer on behind and it's 10 to 12 mpg. I'm on the lookout for a GMC Duramax and expect to have one before the year is out with luck and a few saved dollars. TBow

Contrary to popular belief, Ontario is far more than just Toronto! Calling a rural Ontarion a Torontonian, would be taken as an insult! Oh ya, and to get here, you don't have to cross the Petermanns Bridge. The closest thing we have to an igloo, is the snow forts the kids built in the snow banks in the front yard after shovelling out the driveway in the winter. If you try and do the speed limit thinking it's in miles per hour, you're gon'na get pulled over by Ontario's finest and get a ticket. All night bush parties will put a Young Street disco to shame. "Please and thank you", are entrenched into our vocabulaire and will most likely get a smile and a "You're welcome" in return, not "wus'up?" Rural Ontario kids who hunt, fish and trap, don't mug little old ladies! And just like in the Beach Boys song, "the northern girls with the way they kiss, they keep their boyfriends warm at night!". Ah yes, Ontariariario! TBow

O.K. Here's what my day consisted of: 1. Went to the post office and got the mail. 2. Visited my mom. 3. Went to the local coffee shop (Tim Horton's of course) and chatted with a few buddies who were also on a Health & Wellness day....or should I say "year". 4. Came home and picked up a cardboard box full of old bills that I'd wanted to dispose of for a while. 5. Headed to my rural building lot that overlooks the St. Lawrence River, a couple miles outside of the town where I live and burned all those bills in a burn barrel. 6. Pulled out a folding lawn chair out'ta my truck, sat there monitoring the fire, watched the river flow, had a beer and munched on moose pepperettes.... ..........life is gooooooooooddddddddd! Oh ya, the dispatcher ain't home yet, so things could still go down the tubes! TBow

Yesterday a buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to go out to a local sports bar for wing night. The bride was working nights so I joined him and his son for wings and a beer. Well we sat right in the draft of the air ventilation system, so this morning I had a slight sniffle and virtually every muscle in my body was aching. So when I got out of bed this a.m., I walked over to the mirror and had a serious talk with my boss. I told him he'd been working me too hard in my retirement years. The last couple days has been soffits and fascia work and prior to that he had me changing electrical panels, plus he also has me doing quite a bit of lawn maintenance stuff at family related properties. I tell you, I really layed it on the line with him and he never said a word. Just stood there and took it all. And when I TOLD him I was taking a health & wellness day today, he never flinched. What a woos! Now on the other side of the coin, as soon as my dispatcher gets home from work, you know, the one who keeps leaving honey-do-lists for me, well I'm gon'na have quite a bit of explaining to do. I'm just going to tell her that my boss gave me the day off and hope for the best! :yawn: TBow

I know of few people who say, "I only want to buy one gun. What one gun type/action or calibre/ga. should I get?" With that philosophy in mind, get both. Problem/dilemma solved.....just don't tell your wife! You're gon'na have to trust me on that one! :jaw: YUP! There's nothin' like gettin' a ney toy.....or toys, to perk a body's spirits! TBow

Well I tried my hand one last time at turkeys today, but no cookie....er I mean turkey! I only made it out two days this year, opening day and closing day. Can't say that I really put a lot of effort into it like I should have. Had to leave a bit early this afternoon as I had to look after my grandchildren while my daughter headed to Ottawa to pick up a stairs chair lift for my grandson. She needed my truck, so grampa opted for family instead of turkeys. As soon as I left my hunting spot, I saw a couple hens just a mere field and a half away from where I was set up. Probably nesting hens I figured. I heard one tom gobble, but nothing came in. Oh well, maybe next year. TBow

Just a quick note, DO NOT connect the bare copper wire to the neutral/white at the receptacle. It must be connected to a grounding screw either on the box or a gnd terminal on the receptacle. The bare copper wire is already connected to the neutral/white at the main panel and should not be connected at any other locations to the neutral/white. It has the potential to make the bare copper a current carrying conductor, which is a no no. TBow

I had to replace my solenoid/valve on my gas furnace after failure of the thermocouple as well. If you're not absolutely sure of yourself on gas lines, then it would be wise to get a licenced technician to do the work. You might possibly require a licenced tech anyways by law to work on a gas line. One requirement for a licenced tech is that any small leak whatsoever could result in an explosion, so better safe than sorry. If you are allowed to DIY, then be sure to use pipe dope on the joints and test for leaks once you're done and before you try to light things up. It's quite possoble also that the supplier that sells parts, may not be allowed to sell a non-certified person any parts that are part of a gas line system. TBow

Just stop backing up then! I took my truck to a garage where a friend worked and mentioned to him I was concerned about a loud clunking noise in the front end. He indicated he could resolve that in a matter of seconds. At that point he leaned in through the driver's window, reached across to the radio controls and turned the radio up really loud. "There", he said. "Problem solved! You won't hear that sound anymore". I'd pull the wheels and check the brakes first. TBow

Ditto on the bug suit, head net, Thermacell, deet, anti-aircraft mosquito/black fly artillery.....and oh ya, did I mention a bug suit? TBow

Well I took my group's applications out to Kemptville on Thursday last week. Then my brother-in-law, whom I'd asked for a few years if he'd like to come with us moose hunting, called me and said he just got his Outdoors Card temporary replacement, but was having trouble buying his moose licence without the platic card. He came over to my house and we phoned in for his moose licence and put him in the draw as a single as my group was already sent in. He's just Pool #2, but we played the odds by making his 1st Choice an archery cow in our WMU. If he doesn't draw, then at least he'll be Pool #1 next year. TBow

It looks like a long thin copper tube about 1/8" or 3/16" dia. and comes in varying lengths of 12" to 36" depending on how far your solenoid is from your pilot light. The one end screw into your solenoid and the other end protrudes into the pilot light flame. TBow

I'm guessing your thermocouple on your pilot light in the water heater is gone. You can buy a replacement at a plumbing/heating supplier for about $10. It fits from your gas solenoid (where you turn the pilot and gas on) to the pilot light burner. When it's working, it's supposed to let the solenoid know that the pilot light is working and that it can keep the solenoid open to allow gas to flow. If the pilot light goes out, the solenoid closes so no unburnt gas leaks into your house. The thermocouple would be my first try as it's relatively inexpensive and if your mechanically inclined at all, you can change it yourself without fiddling with any gas lines. If the thermocouple doesn't work, then it's likely your solenoid which can run $100 to $200. You'll need a gas ticket to change that, or at least most states or provinces require one. Your dryer uses the three insulated condcutors (red and black are hot - L1 and L2 and the white is your neutral). The bare copper typically goes to your ground screw on the back of the box, but some outlets also have a green screw where you can attach the bare copper conductor to. It will be labelled "GND". If there's no "GND" screw on the outlet, then just use the ground screw on the back of the outlet box. If it's a plastic box, then there will be a green ground screw to attach to. TBow

I've got a 12" Crafstman sliding mitre saw. The 10" saws will not cut a 4" x 4" in one cut. You have to flip the 4x4s over to cut them with a 10" saw. That's not an issue if you're just doing small trim work, but if you want to do any construction work, then it could be something to look at. The 12" saw I've got was selling for $660 cdn last year, but I got it at 50% off on sale, a $20 off scratch and save card, plus a 15% discount for an employee discount, so it was worth it for me. That same saw is retailing for $699 cdn now. OUCH! If you opt for a drill press, I like the floor models as opposed to a table model. Make sure to get a minimum of a 3/4 HP motor and a 5/8" chuck. TBow

I have also been looking at a table saw, as well as a host of other wood working tools. I would think if you're thinking of cabinetry work, then I'd be going for the heavier cast iron beds as opposed to something that's portable with a smaller HP motor. The links to the Grizzly saws in this thread are the type that will fit well into finer work. Powermatic also makes a good saw, but are pricey. Delta is also a name that comes to mind. If you do however, opt for these levels of saws, you'll have to have the space (workshop) to accomodate them as they are not portable and will be firmly and permanently attched to where ever you anchor them. These levels of saws come in a host of HPs and voltages. Stay away from the 3 phase motors as they will cost you extra to accomodate the electrical system at your house. Few people have a 3 phase system as it's impractical and expensive. My personal preference would be for a single phase, 240 vac, 3 hp motor. I think the table extensions are also a great idea, especially if you plan on the cabinet work as you have decribed. Most portable saws are 3/4 to 1-1/2 hp and can stall out especially if you're cutting hard wood. And don't scrimp on saw blades. Quality saw blades (that are well maintained and sharp) are worth their weight in gold. Good luck. TBow