ness

Always liked P51 and P38 from the WWII era. My uncle flew reconnaissance in a P38 in the big one. I always liked the Piper Cub too: DeHavilland Beaver Liked the WWI planes too. Sopwith Camel

I love seeing the dog too. I haven't tried that with mine -- he's kinda high strung. Feel like I'd be on a dog watch saddled with a fly rod.

Cool, and -- why didn't I think of that??

Those are pretty cool.

Man, that's just sweet. Love the little creeks and wild rainbows.

Good stuff fellers.

Dang! Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Chiefs, baby. Jayhawks are pitiful, and besides, I write checks to K-State now.

Beano...twist ties...twine...baggies...toothpaste...deodorant...mouthwash...shoelaces...gorilla suit. Oh wait -- I already had gorilla suit.

I hear you on that, Al. What's the use? It's fall -- easily my favorite time of the year. Only problem is it's too short and there's too much good stuff to do. Gonna try to get my butt out to a hunting preserve this weekend and get my dog warmed up for the season. Next weekend is an annual family get-together at Roaring River, which I love doing, but I always sneak away a couple days early and fish elsewhere first. MO bird season is right around the corner, then KS. And football -- which is actually fun to watch this year...

I've never done horseradish, so can't offer help. I hang out over at idigmygarden.com forums too, and I think there was a recent thread on horseradish.

We've been getting some cold temps, but nothing too bad yet. Need to get the hoops up this weekend. Still have way more of the cherry tomatoes than I want or need. Two plants was the plan, but I screwed up on a label and ended up with three. One would be plenty, I'm sure. Other maters have been a disappointment this year, but I'm still getting one or two small ones a week. Great year for banana peppers -- pickled another 3 quarts last weekend. I've got two varieties -- the heirloom standby Sweet Banana, and a hybrid called Sweet Spot. Sweet Spot will produce 8-inch long, thick walled, perfectly straight peppers that are good for stuffing. Sweet Banana are smaller but thicker yet, and have a little better flavor. Still getting a few poblanos, Anaheims and red cheese peppers. Picked about 3-1/2 pounds of beans last weekend -- pole and bush. Beets are ready to be picked too. I'll be picking and pickling tomorrow. I didn't get any germination on the carrots I planted a while back, and the fall snap peas are looking like a bust (which isn't really a surprise -- rarely have good luck). I may start some more carrots this weekend. Collards are a tiny because I planted them in a spot that gets too much shade from basil and chard. I'm gonna pull the chard/basil out this weekend and put the collards under hoops, along with cabbage. I don't have the invisible fence collar on the new pup yet, so she's got the run of the yard -- including the garden -- and dug up about half of the radishes and some of the lettuce. I'll get all that under hoops too, and start some more. Still plenty of time for those.

Why bother? Just make sure your stuff has expiration dates after Jan 15.

I broke my self-imposed ban on listening to cable news for this special occasion. It was hilarious to hear the nonsense. Both sides making the exact same arguments as the other side: 'they won't negotiate'; 'they shut down the government'; 'they're acting for political reasons, not for the people'; 'we could end this today'; 'they're risking financial calamity...' Was there any doubt in anyone's mind that this would turn out just about like it did? (pssst. look ) We should all be disgusted with the whole group -- not just whatever side we lean towards. There appears to be NOBODY in DC that has the brains, clout, power, charisma, leadership -- whatever -- to lead this country out of the quagmire and towards more productive and prosperous times. Time to get rid of them all.

That soup looks amazing. What's going on in there? Pickled mushrooms sound weird, but I'm sure not passing judgement.

LOL Al. Now everybody here knows I'm not working.

Let's just cherry pick: Japan -- electronics, table-side food prep/knife tricks Switzerland -- cheese, chocolate, scenery Germany -- beer, cured meats Denmark, Hong Kong, Finland, Netherlands, Singapore -- I got nothing Austria -- Vienna sausages France -- they've got some good stuff, but there's always a catch Sweden -- blondes, meatballs Belgium -- beer, shotguns Canada -- comedians

Kidding aside, just for a second. Look who can borrower cheaper than the great and powerful Uncle Sam: Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Hong Kong, Finland, Netherlands, Austria, Singapore, France, Sweden, Belgium, Canada.

Just got back from Wal-Mart. I discreetly bought out all their bottled water and Vienna sausages. BTW -- Our CFO tells me we sent a few million bucks to the IRS on September 15, and will have more going on December 31. I presume we're not the only ones, but what do I know? Maybe they could use that to service the debt? Then for the debt that's maturing just do a no-cost refi like I hear about on the radio all the time? What about the $85 billion the Fed creates every month by buying bonds? Could we use that to pay for something else? I'm probably just over-thinking this.

Useless, man. They pull the plug at midnight, right? Hold on to your hats boys! The the yields on 30-year treasuries are up 0.0037% this morning to an astronomical 3.79%.

BTW Mitch -- I like the way you think!

Duct tape. Check.

Good adds guys. I'm scratching the extra paddle.

Alright, less than 24 hours until financial Armageddon starts. I wasn't too worried until yesterday, when Fitch ratings said they were putting USA on credit review for a possible downgrade. No word from S&P or Moody's yet. I just wonder if they've already left town? I've cashed in my 401(k), emptied my bank and investment accounts and converted them all to gold. Not some receipt for gold, mind you...I'm talking physical gold. Brinks just dropped it off at the house. They guy was real nice and let me use his dolly to roll it all back to der ness bünker. Anyhoo -- here's what I've got down there: tent ground cloth (for under the tent) closed cell foam sleeping pad, 3/4 length self-inflating sleeping pad (mine is almost 2 inches thick inflated) sleeping bag self-inflating pillow one burner Coleman "backpacking" stove aluminum bottle with extra Coleman fuel set of nesting pots and pans cooking utensils plastic plates and cups eating utensils aluminum foil paper towels dish soap in small bottle cooking oil in small bottle cornmeal in small waterproof container water purifier rain gear jacket extra pants, shirts, socks, underwear dry shoes hat extra clothing for cold weather if necessary two flashlights first aid kit waterproof matches camera gear/binoculars fishing tackle life jacket sponge for getting water out of the bottom of the canoe small camp chair book to read maps extra paddle sunglasses breakfast food lunch food dinner food beverages snacks all necessary dry bags two coolers with ice plastic tub for cooking stuff leather couch for Ruby. Just wanted to get a convo going and see if I'm missing anything before I seal myself in tonight.

My valet attends to my traveling needs. One can't underestimate the value of good help. I showed him this thread and he scoffed at some of these lists. He was, however, complimentary of Ollie for first mentioning the unmentionable.