philoshop

The Cornell U. website is a great place for bird sounds. I've had it bookmarked for several years now and I use it a lot to figure out the feathered critters. I have a Mockingbird that comes through every spring. Duck quacks and seagull screeches are his/her forte, and it's kinda' weird when you hear them from the treetops. Keeps me amused while I'm grilling.

I don't know if there is any difference in quality. It's not an issue that I focus on any more. I know that job call-backs cost me a lot of time, and time is money. Wear and tear on my body is expensive as well. If a customer wants to supply their own fixtures, cabinets, faucets, and other materials for a job I write the warranty part of the contract to reflect that. I simply can't be responsible for other peoples' choices. As far as tools, I buy the best and I always buy them from someone who will fight with the manufacturer for me if there's a problem. Customer support is king, and it starts with the point of purchase. If a tool fails in the middle of a job the local guy will get me back to work immediately, and probably hand-deliver the replacement.

Excellent! Another option if you have a liberal gun-grabber type of neighbor:

There was a full film crew at that show in Wisconsin, including a boom truck. I don't understand why, after nearly 25 years, that video footage of SRV's amazing last show has never been released. I've seen several spectator/amateur videos from that night, but none of them do justice to the performance. Maybe we'll see it some day. I was about 30 feet in front of the sound board and a bit to the north of center drinking a beer, but I didn't wave to the cameras.

I heard one just yesterday morning. Had to get to the job site so I didn't have time look for him/her and I can't whistle to save my life, but I know that they nest in a tree about 15' from my bedroom window every year. Spring-time is like magic. Everything is reborn, as if Mother Nature just hit the 'reset' button and sent the birds out to announce it.

Look for "Live at the El Mocambo". A Toronto show in the mid 1980's. I have a VHS version but I've found it on youtube before. Glassy-eyed stoners, but they were making incredible music. ;-]

I was stuck in traffic leaving the Alpine Valley amphitheater just outside of East Troy Wisconsin the night that he died. A good friend and I drove from Buffalo to see that show featuring Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and SRV. The radio in my truck was broken and we didn't find out about his death until we got back to Buffalo the next day. If I had looked in my rear-view mirror I might have seen the helicopter crash. A terrible end for a musical genius. I saw his show at The Red Creek in Rochester in the early-mid 1980's before anyone outside of Texas knew who he was. There were maybe 30 people in the place so I got a chance to drink a few shots with him and chat between sets. He was a very soft-spoken and humble man.

I remodel kitchens and baths for a living so I have a good working relationship with local suppliers. Purchasing a product from someone who lives in my 'neighborhood', is knowledgeable about his or her products, and actually cares about having me as a customer is worth the extra 10% they might charge. In many cases the products are actually less expensive than the big-box stores. I use a lot of Kohler fixtures, and I like the higher-end Moen faucets. Mostly because I've never had a call-back with either of them. The Jacuzzi toilets are nice too, for those 'big flush' moments. As far as differences in manufacturing, it's a matter of quality control at the factory. A John Deere dealer won't buy c-grade products from the factory. The big-box stores will. It might be nothing more than a poor paint job, but it might also be thin crappy steel on the mower deck. The same is true for hand tools.

Experimentation stage with the 10/22 bench gun after the SAFE Act made my thumbhole stock illegal. A wedge-shaped piece screwed to the butt to 'ride the bag' correctly, and a wide fore-end block attached to the front swivel stud to simulate a bench-style fore-end. It was fun to play with because I just like to shoot, but it never came near the accuracy of the "illegal' thumbhole stock. I got frustrated and quit...

I run 'em through the chipper/shredder, just like I do with nosy bureaucrats. :-)

Thanks pt0217! I'm tech-stupid when it comes to this stuff, but I now recall this scenario.

The state keeps changing the rules/codes for everything construction-related and it's expensive and time-consuming for contractors to keep up. I have no choice but to pass my regulatory costs on to my customers, and the only people who are happy about it are the bureaucrats. I'm happy you were able to get it done Eddie! It's hard to put a price on peace of mind when it comes to family and property.

The difficulty is that any spending bill that works its way through Congress ends up with so much 'pork' attached to it that the original project, and its intent, is essentially lost by the time it comes to a vote. Both parties are to blame for these kinds of shenanigans. The difference between the Socialists and the Conservatives is that the Socialists don't care about how much "extra" something costs the taxpayers. This doesn't work on the level of the individual Democrat though, because I tried to add the cost of a $15k new/used truck on the bill for a $12k bathroom remodel I did last year just to make a point with my customer. I put him in the role of the taxpayer while I played the role of the federal government. We got a good laugh out of it and he bought me dinner, but he also understood what I was getting at. Line item veto power would help tremendously to solve the "pork problem", and to keep budgets focused on their original intent, assuming that someone is in charge who actually understands that there is a problem.

I looked all over and can't find that specific story but a google search of "apple+fbi" turns up a lot of the information, just not in one concise article. Bottom line is that the government doesn't like having it's citizens able to keep secrets.

I came across an article last week (somewhere?) and didn't bookmark it. Apple's CEO Tim Cook explained in detail what was going on, and why he was refusing to cooperate. I'll look for the article when I get a chance, but the gist of it went something like this: The FBI has been asking Apple for well over a year to provide encryption-breaking assistance on about 100 phones in cases across the country. Most of those cases have nothing to do with terrorist activities. The FBI is pushing hard on this particular phone because of the sensational nature of the case. The FBI consulted with Apple immediately after they took possession of the phone related to the San Bernardino case, and Apple immediately gave them advice on how to safeguard the information on the phone so that they wouldn't screw anything up. The FBI ignored Apple's advice.

Abolish the EPA entirely? No. Drastically reduce the bureaucratic size of the EPA, and restrict the scope of it's power? Absolutely, yes. The EPA has become an unelected lawmaking body within the federal government. That's wrong, and should be stopped.

I like both types of hunting. Squirrels and cottontails at 125 yards with the .17, and whitetail deer at 10 feet with a shotgun. In both cases the sight-in is done from sandbags on a bench. That is the stability you look for when you're hunting. We never quite get it, but it's what we strive for. Captured-gun and return-to-battery rests aren't realistic goals for a hunter.

I want a participation trophy! I'm kinda' old, so I've never gotten one.

A 'lead-sled' type of rest generates an entirely different POI from anything encountered in a hunting situation. They're meant for shooting lots of rounds during load development, testing bedding, checking for stock/barrel pressure points, etc. They're a testing tool, and are not meant for sighting in a gun for hunting. Unless you plan to carry it, and the bench, into the field with you. I'll go ahead and be the a****le here: If you need a 'lead-sled' type of rest to sight in your hunting gun, you're probably using too much gun. Testing? Sure. But sighting in? Nope.

Sat for an hour this morning admiring a few of the trees on my property, then killed them for firewood. Sunday lunch with my dear old Mom and Dad, then clean the chimney and load up tools for work tomorrow.

238? That was my winning guess in the jelly-beans-in-the-jar contest when I was a kid. My prize was a month's worth of tummy-aches.

I was 12 yo when I was put on the hay wagon to 'catch' the bombs coming out of the square-baler. They weighed more than I did, and I learned a lot about situational awareness and paying attention that first summer. It was part of growing up. I cringe when I see the videos today of people so involved in their phones that they walk directly into harm's way, oblivious to the world around them.

Welcome aboard Heraclitus! A good start would be to get some firearms training instruction at a local range, and then take the hunter safety course(s) offered by the DEC. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7860.html You'll meet people and learn a lot. Best of luck.

We do, in fact, have candidates who represent that entire spectrum.

The only crime in cooking venison is over-cooking. Taste, smell, texture can turn to "old shoe" in an instant.