jdmidwest

Clockwise top left to right, Little Dennison Single Reed circa 80's Southern Ill hand carved single reed, loud and raspy. Primos High Roller for the whistlers and the Woodies. Buck's Canada Goose honker. Quack Head Quacker Stacker double reed acrylic for softer tones. I have others including a larger Dennison call, Snow goose and white front call, and a goose flute. Its kind of like shotguns, you can't have enough. Best method, shut up, be quiet, let the decoys work, and let the ducks land! Hunted last Monday and they are already call shy.

Half-million jobs vanish as economy deteriorates Saturday, December 6, 2008 By JEANNINE AVERSA The Associated Press WASHINGTON — A half-million American jobs vanished virtually in a flash last month, the worst mass layoffs in over a third of a century. Underscoring Friday's dismaying signs of a rapidly deteriorating economy, General Motors announced yet more job cuts, and a record number of homeowners were reported behind on mortgage payments or in foreclosure. Wall Street found a silver lining, betting that so much bad news would force fresh government action to revive the foundering economy. The Dow Jones industrial rose 259 points. Staring at 533,000 lost jobs, economists were anything but hopeful. Since the start of the recession last December, the economy has shed 1.9 million jobs, and the number of unemployed people has increased by 2.7 million — to 10.3 million now out of work. Some analysts predict 3 million more jobs will be lost between now and the spring of 2010 — and that the once-humming U.S. economy could stagger backward at a 6 percent rate for the current three-month quarter. "The economy is in a free fall," said Richard Yamarone of Argus Research. "It is as if someone flicked off the switch on hiring." "It's a mess," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Businesses, battening down the hatches, are concerned about their survival and are cutting workers." Work force exodus President-elect Barack Obama said the crisis "is likely to get worse before it gets better," and no one was going to argue that point. Economists predicted the unemployment rate, which rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent in November, could soar as high as 10 percent before skittish employers begin hiring again. The jobless rate would have bolted to 7 percent for the month if not for the exodus of 422,000 people from the work force for any number of reasons — going back to school, retiring or simply abandoning job searches out of frustration. When people stop looking, they're no longer counted in the unemployment rate. The rate was at 4.7 percent just one year ago, 6.5 percent in October. Employment shrank in virtually every part of the economy — factories, construction companies, financial firms, accounting and bookkeeping, architectural and engineering firms, hotels and motels, food services, retailers, temporary help, transportation, publishing, janitorial and building maintenance, and even waste management. The few fields spared included education, health care and government. The United States — already in recession for a year, may not be out of it until the spring of 2010 — making for the longest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, economists are now saying. Recessions in the mid-1970s and early 1980s last 16 months. Unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent in 1982, still a far cry from the Depression, when roughly one in four Americans were out of work. Recession pains That said, more pain is certainly in store. Fresh evidence: * A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage was either at least a month behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. * General Motors, already pleading with Congress for billions of dollars to survive the month, said it would lay off an additional 2,000 workers as it cuts shifts at three car factories starting in February due to slowing demand for GM cars. President Bush, who used the word "recession" for the first time to describe the economy's state, pledged Friday to explore more efforts to ease housing, credit and financial stresses. "There is still more work to do," Bush said. "My administration is committed to ensuring that our economy succeeds." President-elect Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action, even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved. "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," Obama said. "At the same time, this ... provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come." On a personal level, right before Thanksgiving, Mark Pierce, 51, who was executive pastor at a church in Mansfield, Ohio, was given a choice: get laid off or take a lesser job with a roughly 40 percent pay cut. His last day of work was Tuesday. "Anyone in that situation looks at it very personally," he said. "You say, 'Is this a cut across the board, or it just me?"' It's not just him. Employers are slashing costs as they cope with sagging sales in the U.S. and in other countries, which are struggling with their own economic troubles. In recent days, AT&T Inc., DuPont, JPMorgan Chase & Co., as well as jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., and mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. all have announced layoffs. Tom Solso, chief executive of Columbus, Ind.-based manufacturer Cummins Inc., said Friday the company planned to cut 500 jobs, or about 3.5 percent of its work force despite other cost-cutting moves such as temporarily shutting down plants, shortening work weeks and extending holiday shutdowns. Fighting for survival, the chiefs of Chrysler LLC, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. returned to Capitol Hill Friday to again ask lawmakers for as much as $34 billion in emergency aid. Workers with jobs did see modest wage gains in November. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.30, a 0.4 percent increase from the previous month. Over the year, wages have grown 3.7 percent, but paychecks haven't stretched that far because of high prices for energy, food and other items. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is now expected ratchet down a key interest rate — near a historic low of 1 percent — by at least a half-percentage point on Dec. 16 in a bid to breathe life into the moribund economy. Bernanke is exploring other economic revival options and wants the government to step up efforts to curb home foreclosures. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, whose department oversees the $700 billion financial bailout program, also is weighing new initiatives such as tapping the second half of that rescue money to ease the economic crisis. Obama, who takes office on Jan. 20, has called for a massive economic recovery bill to generate 2.5 million jobs over his first two years in office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has vowed to have a package ready on Inauguration Day for Obama's signature. The measure, which could total $500 billion, would bankroll big public works projects to create jobs, provide aid to states to help with Medicaid costs and provide money toward renewable energy development. For now that's cold comfort to Gary Cope, 33, who lost his communications job this week at Roanoke, Va.-based high-tech research and development company Luna Innovations Inc. Cope was called into a meeting first thing Thursday morning. The message: He was being laid off, for financial reasons, effective immediately. He left with a box of his belongings and about two months' severance. As Cope walked out the door, all he could think was, "I have a 3-year-old son and I'm a single dad." "I came home and did my initial pity party, then I got myself together, talked to my family and went right to work" rewriting his resume and sending it out, Cope said.

Ducks are not doing much here now and we need some rain to open up some new hunting. Sounds like a good time to do some trout fishing. I may head down Sunday and do a day trip. Gas just dropped to $1.49 here.

GM makes a fine truck and car, you really should not have to worry about that. I wonder how the Corp guys let it get so bad, or maybe they just started whining like some of the financial types did. I think what is hurting you is the media that seems to make it like it is impossible to get a loan for anything. It is hurting autos, RV's, and homes right now. I think the banks still have money to lend even though their investments have tanked over the past few months. Around here, Limestone quarries that supply steel mills, factories that manufacture aluminum and components for the cars are all laying off. I really think the major factor is all of the depressing media stories. If they would only show something positive sometimes, maybe moods would change. I guess that is why they call it a depression!

I think that the Speaker of the House is next in line of succession, but that spoiled the idea.

I believe it is Jello made with some kind of Liquor instead of water in the form of a shot glass or cube. You can carry the cubes and pop them in your mouth as you go. Never had one, I am a beer kind of guy.

I am almost to the point that I have seen everything. Why? Imagine what this will do to beef in the stores..... Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers By BOB JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Bob Johnson, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 5, 4:43 am ET MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law. Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution. "This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do," said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal. It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog. The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and "all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them." Sparks said Wednesday he's worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported. "We'll let other countries put food on our tables like they are putting gas in our cars. Other countries don't have the health standards we have," Sparks said. EPA spokesman Nick Butterfield said the fee was proposed for farms with livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions. Butterfield said the EPA has not taken a position on any of the proposals. But farmers from across the country have expressed outrage over the idea, both on Internet sites and in opinions sent to EPA during a public comment period that ended last week. "It's something that really has a very big potential adverse impact for the livestock industry," said Rick Krause, the senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation. The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organization supporting the proposal hopes it forces the farms and ranches to switch to healthier crops. "It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses," said Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share," he said. U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville in northwest Alabama, said he has spoken with EPA officials and doesn't believe the cow tax is a serious proposal that will ever be adopted by the agency. "Who comes up with this kind of stuff?" said Perry Mobley, director of the Alabama Farmers Federation's beef division. "It seems there is an ulterior motive, to destroy livestock farms. This would certainly put them out of business." Butterfield said the EPA is reviewing the public comments and didn't have a timetable for the next steps.

Well his luck finally run out, got away with murder and goes to jail for a petty crime. I really liked him in the Naked Gun Series.

Ho, Ho, Ho and a Merry Christmas. Just what I needed today was an announcement that our business was going to 4 day work week, cutting payroll by 1/5 th. One layoff had already occurred and others are probably soon to come. The construction industry ground to a halt around here this summer and new home starts are almost non-existant. Many factories are laying off daily and the outlooks look grim. How is everyone else fairing on here?

A friend of mine brought this up today and it sounds great. Wouldn't it make the Democrats furious if: Bush resigned the Presidency, Cheney would become the President. Cheney makes Condolezza Rice the Vice President. Cheney resigns before the inauguration and Rice would become the first Female, Black, Republican President! That would make history.

Thank god it came to a head before the new administration comes in. Now my wish is for MO to add concealed carry while in the woods and on streams similar to Alaska without any special permits.

Sneaking around is perfectly acceptable, keep the kink to yourself in private. Don't bring it out in public and flaunt it just because you came out of the closet. It is a personal choice and you really should keep it to yourself. I really don't make heterosexual public displays. Don't ask, don't tell. And really, its un-natural. Women or men, I don't want to see it in public. And why make a big deal about it? Why should gays have special laws and rights just to deal with their kink? I use the word "kink" because, really, that is what it is. It is an alternate lifestyle.

Greybear, you are beginning to sound like Tadman. Bear Creek is too small to float, wading only, access can only be made thru private property. I meant peaceful as in no guns or drugs or litter. I will allow all the drunken naked women to come, no questions asked. I have in the past been violated by drug users and meth makers, poachers, and others that shoot at livestock. Those types have ruined it for all. When I was a kid, our property was open to swimmers, fishing, and camping. With the exceptions of a few streams and usually on Saturdays during the summer, Mo streams do not have a problem. I would not float them anyway on Saturday if I wanted peace and quiet and good fishing, because the crowd would still be there. It does not matter if they are drinking Coke or Budweiser, they are still bumper to bumper and ruin what I call a peaceful fishing float. If I do not want the company of others, there are plenty of other streams that I can go to and get away, even on a summer holiday. We really don't need any new laws, just enforcement of the ones we have already.

Who keeps a trout bigger than what will fit in a gallon bag anyway? Double check the head and tail attached on the transport thing, I think that only applies to the stream. In a park, you can filet the trout at the campsite and cook or put them in the cooler for transport home. I know you cannot possess your trout park trout in the parking lots below the parks along the trophy sections. Montauk has a freezer at the lodge you can store your trout in if you wish to go below and fish. Of course trout park fish and stream fish have different rules also.

I like the Toshiba laptops the best, better built, run better and cooler, last longer. I have also owned several HP and Compaq products and really have not had many problems with them either. Sony Vaios are usually a little higher priced with fewer options. Dells are usually at the bottom of the scale, hard drives like to fail in them and they like to run hot. Based on what your requirements are any should do fine. Make sure you get at least 2 gb ram, a good processor, (not celeron or duron), good size hard drive and 15" monitor and you should be good. If you find one with XP, even better.

Just found this story on the net. Imagine tying a 3" cahill! What weight rod would you need? How big was the trout in that era. Ancient insect imprint found in Massachusetts By Gene Emery Gene Emery Tue Dec 2, 2:36 pm ET NORTH ATTLEBORO, Massachusetts (Reuters) – U.S. researchers say they have discovered what appears to be the oldest imprint of a prehistoric insect, made while the dragonfly-like creature was still alive. The imprint found at a rocky outcrop near a large shopping center in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, is believed to have been made by an insect about three inches long as it stood on mud some 312 million years ago. "It's not a dragonfly but picture a dragonfly-like body. We're looking at something related, maybe a mayfly. They have the same body plan," said the discoverer, Richard Knecht, a geology student at Tufts University in Massachusetts. The fossilized remains of a wing that may have belonged to the same species were uncovered two weeks ago. The imprint of the insect shows the thorax and abdomen, along with six legs, two of which may have moved slightly to create drag marks that hardened into burgundy-colored stone. "It's unusual to see a flying insect make such a deep impression in this muddy sediment," said Tufts paleontologist Jake Brenner. "We don't have many good body fossils from this time period with these early flying insects. The level of detail is really unseen in continental deposits." At the time the impression was made, insects and amphibians were common. Reptiles, the ancestors of the dinosaurs, were just beginning to come to prominence. Many of the fossilized remains of insects show only individual body parts, such as a wing left behind when a predator ate the rest. The impression of an intact insect "fills in the blanks of what we imagined," Knecht said in a telephone interview. The rock that contained the fossil broke off in Knecht's hands as he was trying to rediscover an outcrop that had yielded four-digit footprints of an ancient amphibian the day before. "It was a really lucky find," he said.

Good report. In all my years of fishing the 11pt, I don't think I have ever seen a redd. I find them all of the time on the upper Current. Nov. and Dec. are good times to be on the river, this duck hunting addiction has put a stop to it. In the 80's and early 90's, I was on the 11pt 4-5 days a month in the winter. Then, with duck season, all fishing has pretty well ceased for Nov. and Dec.

They are a pain on ice or in freezing weather. I have a pair of regular soled boots for my stockingfoots when I use them to hunt.

Its a black beadhead pattern with a krystal flash tail.

Mo. senator seeks to dampen river parties Monday, December 1, 2008 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A state lawmaker is trying to dampen the party scene on some of Missouri's popular floating streams. Newly proposed legislation would ban beer bongs, Jell-O shots, kegs and beaded Mardi Gras necklaces on Missouri rivers. The bill by Republican Sen. Delbert Scott, of Lowry City, was among the first filed Monday before the 2009 legislative session. The Missouri State Water Patrol says lewd behavior has become a major problem on the popular canoeing and rafting streams of the Ozarks. Maj. Tommy Roam estimates that alcohol is involved in well over 75 percent of the complaints the Water Patrol responds to on rivers. Just what we need, more laws. I have already surpassed this one, we toss out Lei's instead of beads, makes them feel special. So I guess our behavior will not be outlawed. And we still drink our beer one at a time.

If you put in at the Highway 19 access probably so. It the best float with the best of the scenery.

Good site, how long has it been up? I usually frequent www.flytyingforum.com for ideas and stuff. Great site.

As much as I would like to see Wally crucified, as they are a thorn in society's side and have really hurt small town retailers, there are several other retailers that pulled the same crap and something really should be done about it. A massive lawsuit against Wally would set a precedence like the hot coffee incident with McDonalds and may put an end to the madness. Sales are one thing, limited supplies that cause a fight are another. I went out Friday and shopped after the morning duck hunt. I went to Staples for some electronics they had in an ad. The place was not crowded, they had the 3 items in stock I wanted, I was happy and done for the day. Did I mention I went in at 11:30 am. not 5:00 am.? I spoke with the cashier about the days business. She stated that they opened 15 minutes early because the crowd was getting rowdy and she had heard several complaints about Wally and Best Buy and their sales. I almost bought a 19" LCD monitor that they had for $99, still had a whole pallet left, $100 less than normal price. The guy that died in NY at Wally was in a store that featured a cheap vacuum cleaner, cheap digital camera, cheap plasma TV, and The Incredible Hulk DVD for $9. Not quite worth a human life. Had it been a stupid shopper that was stupid enough to wait outside for hours for a chance at the above cheap worthless crap, then the death would have been a little more acceptable because they had a death wish anyway.

What part did you float?

I really don't see the slander. If Lilley is parked in the lot with a personalized plate that said OAF-1, and someone reported seeing him in the lot, how would that be slander? Now if you said he was trolling for fruit, that may be slander. Anyhow, your problem, I have only been over to Taney once. Better over in that part of the state than around here. That lifestyle should really be more discreet. I don't want to see it on TV, in a parade, or in a parking lot.