nboucher

Albert Pujols as a Yankee would morph into Gary Sheffield.

Sounds like you've got it right. Here's a photo:

Good one, K. ;D

Tried Tilethamine, Zolazepam, Diazepam, Thorazine, Sadic Penthobarbital, Ketamine, you name it, the critter must be from some other planet cuz none of them woiked :-/; it 's impervious to all the known tranquilizers, sedatives and euthanesics available. It 's a hopeless case and the prognosis is really bad. Sounds like a symbiotic rather than parasitic relationship.

I have a dog I take canoeing and kayaking from time to time, but not fishing. I'm too focused while fishing to have to deal with it. When we started taking the dog in the canoe, someone would sit with her in the middle of the canoe and hold onto her collar just in case. She grew to love it, though, and now is the first one in the canoe whenever I put it in the water. She knows exactly where she's supposed to sit. (That's her waiting to shove off in my avatar.) I would imagine that labs will be tough because they are such water dogs it might be difficult keeping them out of the water where you're trying to fish. The arthritic one might be easiest because less likely to jump in. The frisky one will take some training.

Hook buried. If getting hung up isn't a problem, I'll go wacky-rigged rather than expose the hook point.

I could be wrong, but isn't the MVP voting done before the playoffs anyway?

Keep buying, Carl. Aren't we sharing a boat at Fork?

Here's another link for it. http://www.animatedknots.com/arbor/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=

Or Jessie Winchester. Is he still up in Canada?

One of my favorite things to do in winter is strap on snowshoes and head off into placesswamps, marshes, etc.that are inaccessible for the rest of the year. There is no better tracking than a day or so after fresh snow, when you can pick up some tracks and read in them the story of what the animals were doing. Now, after heavy snow, I snowshoe out to the hills out back, creating a trail that the neighborhood kids can then follow with their sleds. And don't forget making snow angels, which never gets old. LBH, how well I remember snow days when I was growing up in New Hampshire. In states like that, which know how to move snow around to keep roads clear, there had to be A LOT of snow before we'd have a snow day. We'd sled down the hills to the pond across the street, then shovel out an area for skating. When it got dark, we'd go inside with runny noses and the smell of wet wool, where the hot chocolate was waiting with a spoonful of Marshmallow Fluff on top. Man, those were great times!! Thanks for reminding me. . .

Paparock, you are a wise and eloquent man, and I wish you all the peace a man can have, no matter what lies ahead. My own parents are close to 90 now, and as they face their final years they are a study in contrasts. My mother is angry about the approaching end, but my father will die as he has lived: showing me how to conduct myself with dignity and grace. Not onceand this is incrediblehave I heard him say an unkind thing about another. When I was a boy growing up in New Hampshire, I couldn't understand why he never took me hunting and fishing when so many of of my friends' dads were taking them. When I asked him, he looked me in the eye and softly answered: "I couldn't hurt an animal like that." (At the same timeand this is another measure of his strengthhe never uttered a peep of criticism to me for doing those very things, and took joy to see the fish I caught.) Now he cares for my mother, whose mind is fading, and responds to her anger with love and humor. I am far more educated than he is, but my heart will never be as good or as pure. He is, Avid, a true bodhisattva. Where does one learn that? My wife teases me that she is always prepared for my post-Thanksgiving blues. I love Thanksgiving for the family and the holiday's simplicity, but inevitably as Christmas approaches and the year ends, I slip into a funk, no matter how hard I try to resist it. Some of it is the passing of time, another year gone that I didn't use to its fullest, and a lot of it is the consumerism and waste that has spoiled Christmas. All religions condemn those two things, yet, despite our claim to being a Christian society, they become the true idols this time of year. For that reason, our hypocrisy is also in the forefront this time of year, reminding me that as a society we worship nothing as much as the almighty dollar. Like Avid, I don't mean to bring everyone down. I treasure my the time spent as a family this time of year. But it's hard for me.

6lb, 7oz on a green pumpkin Zoom horny toad.

HgH and greenies, as I believe one of the most popular substances is called. I agree that cheaters should be kept out of the Hall and that people who break the law should be prosecuted. The problem is that, aside from three or four players, we don't really know who these cheaters are. Sosa probably won't get in based on merit, and many of the cheaters just weren't good enough to be eligible, so we can rule them out. And what about pitchers? Most of the expos és have focused on hitters, but supposedly performance-enhancing substances were as common among pitchers. Who are the cheaters there? My knowledge about all this stuff is pretty thin. I should read more about it to really know what I'm talking about, but what about all those owners and the commissioner himself who looked the other way. If a crime was committed, aren't they responsible for covering it up? Aren't they accessories? I think we can agree that this is a big mess, and baseball is not willing to really get to the bottom of it. Random drug testing will help, but look at the pressure it took to get Selig to agree to it, and look at the mild penalties he proposed until Congress really turned on the heat. Too many people made too much money from 70-home-run seasons.

I don't think there's an easy answer to this one. Think about it: given the prevelance of steriod usage during the 80s and 90s, where do you draw the line? Do you ban all hitters from that era from the Hall? What are the criteria? Named in Canseco's book? Convicted of violating steroid policy (and what was the policy back then?) or admitted usage? What about Clemens, Garciaparra, and other guys who suspiciously filled out during that era? If Palmiero used, he doesn't have a steroids build, so maybe that's not the telltale sign either. My point is: if using performance-enhancing substances is grounds for being excluded from the Hall of Fame, who's in and who's out from that period?

Where on the Nashua River? I'm about an hour south of there, and caught a 3.5 pounder on a local pond Saturday. The bite is indeed tough now, as it should be this time of year. Jigs are about the only thing working now. I grew up in Nashua and get up there pretty often to visit family.

Things should start heating up soon. ESPN has a report on its Web site tonight that the Red Sox could trade Manny Ramirez by Saturday. If trueand that's a big ifthis is bad news for David Ortiz. Without Manny hitting behind him, he'll become the Barry Bonds of the AL with a couple hundred walks. I am as sick as anyone in Boston of Manny's left-field bloopers and suspicious injuries, but, man, that guy puts up numbers year after year that are phenomenal. Makes you wonder what those numbers would be if he played all out every day! As for Matsuzaka, it's not really fair to compare him to other rookie pitchers. The guy is 26, has pitched 1,400 innings over 8 years in Japan, has a career ERA under 3, and was the World Baseball Classic MVP. True, he has no idea what he'd be getting into by pitching in Boston, but neither did Matsui know what it would be like to be a Yankee (yes, riskkid, he's fit in there just fine). (Ichiro's been great in Seattle, but the pressure's nothing like playing in NYC & Boston.) I think the Red Sox will pay what it takes. The deal breaker would be the length of contract. Any way you look at it, it's a gamble, but given the rest of free agent pitchers on the market this year, no one approaches his upside. Every year, including 2006, proves the same thing: to win in the postseason you need pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Even the Yankees' fearsome and pricey lineup (are you taking note, riskkid?) couldn't disprove that maxim. It's what got Detroit as far as it got, and in 2004 it's what made the difference for the Red Sox (that and one timely stolen base by Dave Roberts, who will never have to pay for another meal in Boston for the rest of his life).

Bassmasta, some of the New England reporters are writing that Drew is a lousy teammate, nicknamed Nancy Drew. The rap is that he won't play hurt, etc. True?

Ah, you got to it before I got to you, thereby renewing my faith in the Muddy Man. I was bummin. (Also, I see LBH beat to you to it.)

Hey, Muddy, my pet peeve is your not responding to suggestive threads. I keep looking for you to pick up on "Bass-Mounting" over in General Bass Fishing. That one's got your name all over it, man.

Just found this thread--I was off brushing up on my Japanese. (Muddy, you know what I'm talking about.) The LaRussa thing may not have been so much a slight of the Cardinals as a slap at the Marlins owner. I wish the Yankees would do a Red Sox fan a favor and trade A-Rod.

My teenage daughter talked me into a snowboarding lesson last year at Cranmore. Despite being the oldest guy on the boarding practice slope, I had a blast and hope to do more this year. 8-)

Mike, I'm not sure a sidearm cast is a good thing to try right away. I'm still relatively new to baitcasters, and I find I get more birds nests on a sidearm cast (maybe it's just me?). I would start by casting at about a two o'clock position with your reel set as others have suggested. I would also suggest casting with two hands and with the reel handle facing up (if you're right-handed) or facing the ground (if you're left-handed). That will give you better control, consistency, and accuracy. Once your thumb is at least somewhat "educated," you can move to the sidearm stuff. Just my $.02.

I picked up a tube of Abu Garcia Silicote Reel Lube at Dick's this summer, but haven't used it yet. Is it any good?

My new spinning rod came on Friday, so Saturday I floated the kayak at the local pond to give it a test. Air and water temps were in the high 40s, and this time of year I have to share the pond with bane of the local farmer's existence: a huge flock of Canada geese. Worked an X-rap for a bit and then switched over to a jig with what is becoming my new favorite trailer: a Yamamoto double-tailed hula grub. The highlight was a beautiful, well-fed, three-and-a-half-pound LMB (3lb, 6oz, to be exact) snatched very close to cover in a little island of water willow that stands away from the shoreline on a plateau in only 3 or 4 feet of water. No pics, unfortunately. Today I went snowblower shopping. If the snow comes before I get out again, I'm happy to end the year with such a lovely fish. I'll miss 2006; the fishing's been great, and the time outdoors has been a wonderful gift.