Doc

I have seen some of that kind of parenting that you are talking about. You know..... the parents that get kicked in the shins or slapped in the face and the parent says, "Oh, please don't do that" and then ignores the kid while he continues making a spectacle of himself. Yeah go to any Walmart or grocery store and you'll see that kind of parenting. I agree, the guy should be investigated and then used as an example of how to properly get your kid's attention. As you might have guessed, I have had it with these so-called parents who have completely lost their spine when it comes to child rearing. I see examples of this nonsense all the time, and frankly it's sickening and pitiful. Personally, I would have taken an axe to the laptop just for a little extra emphasis and damage.

The "Cam-float" is finished. It's a bit crude, and I didn't realize what paint does to styrofoam ..... lol. But anyway I'm sure it will work. The thing weighs nothing so it should carry well. It came out just about the right height for little critters (muskrats, mink, beaver, fox, coons, etc.) And if the floods come .......... I'll be ready ......lol. The only problem is that it is designed only for that camera, and I cannot use thetwo Bushnells or the primos. But those are IR cameras so I wouldn't be using them anyway.

Look ..... I have no idea what the legal ins and outs are on this particular method of punishment. I don't even care. One thing I will say for certain is that the kid got the message .....no doubt in my mind. She is now one of the very few kids that has actually been punished for engaging in disrespect of elders. It sure doesn't happen very often these days as more and more the kids blatently run the household. And it's about time these techno-brats learned that there is at least some behaviors in life that actually have consequences. I say BRAVO! There is one child who is not being coddled and trained by a whiney do-nothing parent to be a worthless loser in life that expects the world owes them a living. Now she can buy her own laptop and whatever other electronic toys she wants. Maybe she will actually have to go out and get a job and learn how all the stuff that she consumes is actually paid for. Won't that be a shame? Was his method a bit off-the-wall? Probably .... but I applaud his originality, creativity and most of all, the absolute effectiveness at getting the point across. Whatever politically incorrectness that we may want to assign to this act, at least we are seeing one rare parent that actually takes some time and effort to try to correct his kid. That is one of the very rare times that we will ever see that. Most have already given up and thrown in the towel.

It's standard practice for these larger companies to have you sign a waiver that gives all rights to intellectual property that comes as a result of your employment to the company. He was lucky to get the dollar for each patent. I got nothing but a copy of the paperwork to sign .....lol.

The patents that I have were handled by the company that I worked for. I never got one on my own outside of work. However, I understand that it is not a cheap or easy thing to do. lawyers, infringement searches, and all kinds of expensive legal nonsense.

Lol .... I wonder if CNN aired this story. Probably not, it has some serious pro-gun features in it. Not really the kind of story most of the media would allow on their networks.

Poplars ........ That's one that I had forgotten about when mentioning trees with thin soft bark and a layer underneath that is very moist.

No. If it ain't broke, I don't fix it ..... lol.

I was totally against white-flash until I started to get interested in photographing critters other than deer. If they get a bit spooked from the flash .... who cares. They'll forget the whole experience in about 5 minutes anyway ... lol. The beauty of it is that the price of these white-flash cameras are quite reasonable compared to the IR ones. It's almost worth having one or two of them around for these kinds of specialty pictures. I figure the time is right to pick up whatever white-flash cams that I want because the selection seems to be getting more and more lean as sportsmen are migrating to the IR cameras because of the game spooking concerns.

I remember that the old Baker was such a hazard that I modified mine with a home-made chain and tensioning mechanism so that once I got where I was going, I would clamp that sucker to the tree with the chain. That made it a piece of the tree. However, a hunting buddy of mine took a rather fast trip down on his from about 10' up. the stand decided to grab the tree when it was about a foot off the ground. You know the saying, "It's not the fall that gets you, it's the sudden stop"? Well, he found out exactly what that means ..... lol. It's a wonder that he didn't mess up his back or legs. Yeah, I could see where a serrated blade would be a definite improvement. The big hazard is probably more from a sudden unexpected shift than actually coming down, and that most likely occurs when the stand decides to suddenly do a little rotational shift. The serrations probably help to keep that from happening.

Great video ....... professional quality.

That would be a heck of good spot for a white-flash camera. I'll bet you could get some great photos .... particularly if they are arranged so that the carcasses were not in the picture.

It has been a lot of decades since I have used any treestands, and the last climber I ever used was the old Baker climbers (a real death-trap). My recollection was that the worst tree for that stand was the shagbark hickory because the blade of the climber wouldn't penetrate that super-hard bark. But I recall there were other concerns such as trees with soft, smooth, thin bark with a rather moist layer under it where the stand would tend to try to rotate or shift suddenly around the tree. Beech and pine immediately come to mind. I remember that after only a short period of time with that Baker, we were designing and building semi-portable welded up stands that were chained and securely clamped to the tree. I'm sure that today's climbers are much better than that old Baker, but I kind of figured that a lot of the same trees that were a problem back then are probably still problems today.

And then, way across the country, on the opposite side there is a little chunk of California that has a moderate risk. How did that happen? Thousands of miles of no Lyme disease, and then a county or two that has a moderate risk.

A lot would depend on how many millions I won ..... lol. I think a nice secluded hunting ranch of a couple thousand acres in some remote scenic wild area would be nice as a part-time hunting and camping get-a-way. Perhaps a log mansion would be appropriate. A full fleet of every kind of vehicle imaginable (off-road and on road). Perhaps a stable of pack horses along with full time staff to take care of them and perform property maintenance. That all would be a small part of what I would get. Then of course my wife would have her list.....lol.

Actually, when it comes to ammo, I haven't bought any for a long time. I generally automatically buy the dies for any new caliber rifle that I buy and purchase whatever components that I need and build my own ammo. In fact that policy is one of the reasons that I have stopped going to Gander Mountain. Reloading is how I found out just what a rip-off Gander can be. I bought an electronic powder measure from there and found out later that I paid nearly twice as much for it as I would have if I had gone to Midway, or Bass-pro or any number of other places. Usually the price difference isn't quite that dramatic, but I have found that Gander is consistantly higher than other sources. The other thing that drives me up a wall is the way they stock products, or more specifically, don't stock products. For me, it is more than a half hour drive to their store, and to finally get there and discover that they don't even have something as common as a .222 shell-holder just about sent me through the roof. After that I kept a lookout, and it was more than 3 weeks before they ever got that stocked. Other bullet building components are extremely hit or miss and always the most expensive. Now I would rather get in the car and head for Auburn Bass-pro. It takes almost twice as long, but at least I know I can walk in there and get what I want. Of course we do have a top-notch local supplier in East Rochester called Beikirch (sp?). Good prices, good selections and lots of in-house expertise. That has become my "go-to" place whenever I want something without waiting for ordering and delivery. Gander blew it as far as I am concerned. They were quite a novelty when they opened in Henrietta. I loved their store, and they seemed to have everything. Then they suddenly changed and basically became a rip-off joint with hap-hazard stocking policies and know-nothing personel. I don't think the change has escaped the notice of other area sportsmen too as the customers there have gotten fewer and fewer.

So what's the latest on the "carcass-cam"? No predators show up yet? I kind of figured that would be a guaranteed situation for some good fox, coyote, possum, skunk, raccoon pics hawk, owl, etc. pictures. I've been eyeballing a road-killed deer down the road, and thinking that I should drag it up into my thicket and plunk a camera over it. But that's a lot of work without some good reason to think it should draw in some critters.

Ah, then the answer is simple ........ Just stop doing business with Gander. That wouldn't be any real big loss. We have enough problems with restrictions from the NYS politicians without our suppliers making up their own.

Is this only a Gander Mountain policy or are all the mail-order outfits refusing to ship ammo to NY?

Are there some tree varieties that you would just simply recommend that no one use a climbing treestand on. Obviously, because of the limb structure, pine trees wouldn't be practical, but I am thinking more from a safety standpoint.

That is a real weird distribution of these things. It's hard to see why they are clustered primarily in the northeast and not in other parts of the country. Are they a relatively new import or something?

They are talking about possession of ammunition feeding devices. However they are still "ammunition feeding devices in your possession, even if they come installed in a gun. Sounds like any weapon that can hold more than 5 rounds is illegal in NYC, unless they have some exceptions listed elsewhere in the law. That is one heck of a lot of dis-allowed guns. However, I must state that I am not a lawyer ...... lol.

I seem to remember that the final tabulation is published sometime in March. However, remember that the reporting period was extended from the previous 48 hours, so that may have set back some of the calculations. And then too, since the results are now primarily given to the public via the DEC website, there may be some additional time required for that. I'm looking forward to seeing the town by town break-down. That's where I get the best idea of what is going on in the area that I hunt.

I would be absolutely shocked if the DEC ever gave the go-ahead to install food plots to an individual. There is pretty much a no-touch policy when it comes to state land. They have pretty much made it a policy that nothing can be cut, moved, stacked or in anyway disturbed or altered by casual users other than themselves or people assigned to work on their behalf. It really isn't even legal to clear out shooting lanes. So unless you could figure out a way to make a food plot without touching anything, I wouldn't get my hopes up. On the other hand, it would be interesting if various sportsman's groups were to make a proper pitch to them about entering into some sort of coop program where they volunteered themselves as manpower for whatever habitat improvement projects the DEC may want to get involved in. Given the right "sales-pitch", maybe such outfits as rod & gun clubs might have more success along these lines than just individuals.

I sure don't take these weirdos lightly. They are a very organized (as opposed to hunters who can't seem to be able to back any hunting or gun organizations) and dedicated bunch that have made greater inroads than we want to give them credit for. For sure I have absolutely no respect for them, but I do have to admit to a gradual evolutionary social change over the decades in public images toward hunting, and trapping, and I don't think that we can pretend that some of their antics have not been responsible for some of this. Sure we don't want to believe it, but then it is the youngsters and others that are outside the hunting culture that are most easily affected by these organizations and I believe that animal rights groups have had some impact in shaping some of the changes.