ness

I would definitely not recommend a partnership deal. Being buds in high school is way different than being in a financial arrangement with someone.

The feds have clamped down on bank fees pretty hard. We're busily working on new ways to screw people.

Depends partly on what you're doing at home. I do photography stuff in Lightroom, and it needs a pretty fast processor and plenty of RAM. The large, crisp monitor is a big plus. I have a couple little databases and a handful of simple spreadsheets at home -- I make do with Open Office. But you're right -- for the folks that surf and use e-mail, or students that just need a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation package, about any hardware will do. One other point about Mac -- for years I've wanted a single calendar/contacts solution. Ever since I moved off paper. I'm talking back in the Palm Pilot days, up through the early smartphones, Yahoo/Google web solutions, etc. Only since I got Apple stuff has all that synced perfectly without any effort from me. The core is Exchange here at work, with iMac, iPhone, iPad, and Macbook all working in perfect harmony. I'd like to buy the world a Coke. We're on Win 7 here at the ol' saltmine. No real complaints. No word when we'll migrate to 8, but it's never fun.

....then there's Mac. Sorry to hijack, but this may be interesting to the folks that came here. My iMac is about 6 years old now. They have upgraded the OS a number of times -- all through the cat series and now into Maverick. I don't think I've ever paid for one. And, they get better every time. But, the main point is how reliable it has been. Virtually no problems over that time. About 6 months ago I had an issue, and for $20 and about 20 minutes on the phone with an American at Apple, and a smart one at that, I was back in business. About a month ago my hard drive crashed with about 300 GB of stuff on it. I replaced the drive, plugged in the external backup (or "Time Machine") drive, turned it on and held down the "command" key to get the restore started. A couple clicks and a couple hours later I was back 100% like I was before the drive crashed. I mean everything -- like it never happened.

Yeah, I've got my fingers crossed on that. I'm sure those business owners could really use a good season.

Nice welcome, Chief. Gotcha.

Kinda funny thinking of the Fox as a smallmouth river. My sister-in-law lived in Algonquin for a while, and I always thought it looked pretty good for something. Wouldn't have guessed smallmouth though. Are you saying there are salmon, or are those out in the lake?

Nice. I recognize some of those RMNP spots. Were you out there before the flood?

No -- I ran a shuttle business. I took congressmen, lobbyists, media honchos, televangelists and 'talent' back and forth to a little island out there in international waters where there were 'no rules', if you know what I mean. The Bonanza was for the ones that got seasick. I guess they figured I knew too much, because one day I woke up in a KC motel room with a new passport,drivers license, a wad of cash and a handwritten note that said 'No'. On the table was a laptop logged onto Ozarkanglers.com as 'ness', and the rest you already know.

Yep, they'll do it to you. Back in the 80's I lost a couple Cigarettes and a Bonanza V-tail down in the Keys. I've since changed my line of work.

Anything with trout?

Nice report MattS. Never heard of a Thompson Powell but I have heard of Thompson & Thompson and Powell rods. Not sure what you've got.

Welcome Jeff. Sounds like you've got your priorities right! Show and tell time!

Sorry to hear that, Mitch. I've lost both parents (dad 10 yrs ago, mom 26) but I think about them every single day. It gets easier with time, as you know. Here's hoping you and your family heal quickly.

Yeah, I remember the snow. We got about an inch here. We also had a hard freeze 4/22 but I had everything covered up. The way this winter has been I wouldn't be surprised if it's late again.

I started my onions from seed the last couple years. Started them inside In late January. Seed Savers Exchange is where I got mine.

Those beds under glass are sure nice this time of year. I've got a cold frame that will fit over one of my beds. I've got to add some new plastic for the top to add, then it'll go out there. I wanna get the peas started because they won't do well after it heats up. I've got maters, peppers, lettuce, cabbage, collards, and a bunch of onions going under the lights. I had real spotty germination on the peppers so I'm way behind on them. I'm itching to get things going.

DNR bought the property back in the fall -- that's the last I heard. Former proprietor is in prison, if I remember right.

That's not me -- not familiar with 'mwt'.

Always a fan of the underdog...and can't root for guys like Calipari, no matter what. Did you see the KU kid? Balling his eyes out when they were down, all smiles when they got close, big tears when they lost. Pretty cute little guy.

That's solid, common sense advice right there. Figure out the pros and cons of your boat before you pimp it out.

Yeah -- I went back to raised beds a few years ago after a hiatus. Best thing I ever did.

Exactly! He teaches the techniques, and they apply to just about all patterns old and new. Dubbing, palmering, hair wings, quill wings, deer hair. I just grabbed it off the shelf and thumbed through it. I think it's still a good book. I know I've pulled it off the shelf many times over the years.

Oh yeah, I keep all this stuff. They're kept in the file I build on everybody who has wronged me here. You never know when you'll need it. Chief's got his own file cabinet.

...is running behind. The weekends have been pretty cold this month, so stuff I usually have in the ground by now isn't out. We actually had snow this morning. Temp was mid-40s today; we should be 55-60. Snow forecast for tomorrow. I'm tired of this! Bunch of stuff under the lights that'll do fine until I get them out. But I like to get some stuff going outside about now too-- like peas, radishes, lettuce, cabbage, beets, carrots. Too cold and wet right now. Where are you gardeners in all this? Anything interesting planned for this year?