I have had an Ambient Weather brand, weather station for about 4 years without any issues. Unfortunately it looks like they don’t have the same one I have anymore. The rain guage is self emptying and is really accurate when comparing to the old fashioned tube collector rain guage. They come with an LCD display and can connect to your wifi. Then you can download their app, which is easy to use and monitor it from anywhere. You can even register your station on Weather Underground. If you really want to get fancy, you could also integrate it with an irrigation system if you also had the Rachio controller. I am about to do this myself so not sure how well that works.

February is I love to read month. So far I have read by recommendation here, Canoeing With The Cree which was a great read. I also read Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. It was an ok book. It is a collection of short stories.

Anybody else reading some good books?

I recommend and use the Genie bulbs. I use them in both of my garage door openers. I tried regular led bulbs and the range of the wireless remotes was significantly reduced and sometimes didn’t work at all.

brandyman wrote:

My wife is a teacher and could write a book or 3 about how parents that don’t read to or work with their kids are always behind.

I believe this is a big part of the problem, lack of parents support and involvement in their childs education. Their education and teaching doesn’t just happen at school, it happens at home too. My wife tells me all the time about how she talks to someone and they rarely read to their kids and they wonder why our daughter, a second grader is reading so well. I truly believe it’s because we have been reading to her since she was months old. Every night at bedtime we read to her. Now she is reading to us. My wife and I have been volunteering in our daughters classroom, we help the kids with their reading and math worksheet assignments. The teacher is so grateful for this help and has commented on how she can tell the ones who have support at home.

Umy wrote:

I have commented on education numerous times here and been told I know nothing “MY school district isn’t like that”
Not all are but we fall further and further behind every year in this country. I spent 34 years in a cabinet level position ( I KNOW the insides and outsides of budgets, union contracts, state/federal aid, COVID pots of money…..)
Anyone who wants to have an honest dialogue I would be happy to hear from you.
Just had an outing today. Many of the folks are in education. One friend just started a new job in an upscale district – about 3,000 students. Was incredulous at what he is finding along with the new superintendent and business manager. They have budget codes tied to NOWHERE ( they are not correct) with money going in and out (lots) and can’t find it. Cutting 5 million and not sure where that will place them right now?!
This is NOT uncommon folks. The level of administration in many districts would be fired in the private sector. LOTS of “check the box” positions hired with minimal accountability or ability to track impacts. We are teaching to the lowest common denominator right now whether you want to be believe it or.
What would be “fun” to see is private and charter/magnet schools taking the same standardized tests to see the results. I know a number of administrators in those settings who are getting MUCH better results without public school employee contracts.
I AM NOT bashing teachers. The majority of our issues stem from leadership and state requirements.
The latest governor’s race WAS CORRECT when he said it was a black hole – it is. Unfortunately the largest union is this state is teachers and education is the prized pet of so many Minnefornians so he shot himself in the foot there.
Adding MORE money to this is not going to solve it.

Yes, there is so much wasted money in the schools. They spend it and then when they need more they just go to vote for another referendum to raise taxes even more. Of course it passes because everyone want to help the kids. But, if people really knew how poorly there taxes were being managed and spent by the schools I think the results would be a lot different.

My daughters school has a fun run fundraiser where they raise money for their school by asking for pledges towards running laps in a race. For each lap they run, you donate so much. This is a weeks long event where they entice the kids with stupid prizes that end up in the trash, to go home and ask for pledges from Mom, Dad, Grandparents, friends and neighbors. Here’s the catch, they don’t even count the laps! They automatically give each kid 35 laps. Can you imagine grandpa pledging $10 a lap figuring the kid is good for 10 laps max to then find out it was 35. He now is donating $350! And it gets better, this whole fundraiser is put on by Booster Enterprises. Guess how much this outfit pockets from putting on this event? 50% of the donations! For example, the school advertised they raised $40,000 from this event. This was after Booster Enterprises cut, so really they raised $80,000! Who ever is running Booster Enterprises is getting rich off the schools and the students.

Way to go! Great Pictures!

I really enjoy seeing the excitement on kids faces when they catch a fish. My daughter has been out ice fishing with me since she was 1 year old.

My brother in law builds and sells them in Duluth. Look up Cedar and Stone Sauna dot com. He has one set up at Pier B Resort and hotel you can try it out.

I have used these before. They work great, easy to install and come with everything you need.

https://www.menards.com/main/electrical/conduit-conduit-fittings-raceways/surface-mount-raceways/legrand-reg-wiremold-reg-white-flat-screen-tv-cord-and-cable-power-kit/cmk70/p-1444447139490-c-9801.htm

You have to be careful with those cheaper camera systems. So of them have been proven to phone home to China through a backdoor into your network. Stay away from Hikvision and Dahua for sure.

I would recommend you get a higher quality camera with a high resolution to cover your driveway so you can capture license plates and good still images of people in case there is an incident and you need to provide this to the police. I use Axis cameras for this purpose, they are expensive but they have onboard recording to an SD card, a free desktop and mobile app with no fees. Unifi also makes good stuff, I haven’t used their cameras, but I believe they only work with their recorder and you have to buy that separate.

Blink and Wyze are also very good for the money. Blink cameras can record locally to a USB drive with no monthly fees. They charge a fee for cloud recording. I use them where I don’t have power or would be difficult to get a cable to, such as inside my shed. The batteries really do last a long time and they work in the winter too. The Wyze cameras are great if you have power nearby. I have one inside the garage, mainly to check if the garage doors are closed. If you get a Wyze cam, make sure to also get a SD memory card. With that you can set it up to record all the time and send you motion alerts. You wouldn’t have to sign up for their monthly service then. This would be an easy and cheap way to start and see if it captures what you want.

For me the dollar amount doesn’t matter as much as the type of event or outing we do and the family time spent together. We’re not huge sports fans so activities like Carnivals, theme parks, ice fishing weekends and week long cabin rental vacations are what we do. The memories made during those times are worth the price to see the excitement in our daughter and to later have her tell stories about these experiences. In fact, we sold our cabin last year with the intentions of renting a cabin for a week once or twice a summer. We did this so that our “cabin time” was all about family bonding time and doing fun activities and not having any work to do. This also allows us to see more places and do more different activities than we would when tied to one place. My daughter and I have a thing for the crane games with stuffed animal prizes. Anywhere we see one we have to play it. We have been pretty successful but the excitement she has when we win or even get close is worth the money every time. She even remembers where we won each stuffed animal. It’s more important to us to spend time as a family doing activities and not get hung up on the costs.

I also have a snap on cover made by Canvas Craft for my Alumacraft Competitor. It is very well made, worth the price I paid. My boat sits outside all year except for winter storage. It used to sit on a lift on mille lacs and through a couple heavy rain storms. Never a drop of water in the boat. It is 5 years old and still looks like new. I do clean it and do the maintenence that they recommended. I like the snaps, easier and faster to take the cover on and off. I highly recommend them.

Has this been sold? Is it still for sale? Thanks!

How about Collagen supplements? Has anyone used them or are they another gimmick?

I have also noticed the high price at Subway. I eat gluten free and sometimes if I didn’t bring a lunch I will get a salad at subway for lunch, not anymore. Last time a salad, chips and drink cost me 15 bucks!

Corey sunderman wrote:

Get something with a siloxane in it to protect from salt. And make sure it’s made for already cured concrete

Thanks Corey!

Found some and applied it to the concrete.

I’m very sorry for your loss Dan. You gave her the best life a dog could get. I had the exact feelings when having to put my dog down too. She may be gone but will always live on in your heart.

We have been Costco members for quite a few years. Like most others we shop for the paper products and other household goods mostly. Used to buy a lot more produce when we lived closer.

Costco has an auto buying program that I used to buy my new truck. They supposedly negotiate the best price for you, but the dealer always had the better price already. However at the time the promotion for Chevrolet products was a $700 costco giftcard sent to you after purchase. I did get this and used it to buy new tires for my wifes car.

I have a 2019 Colorado. So far I really like it. I haven’t put on enough miles yet to judge the dependability. It rides nice and tows well. Before this truck I had a Ridgeline, there is a little less room in the Colorado and a lot less storage spaces.

The last couple years I have been fishing a wacky rigged senko type worm under a slip bobber for smallmouth bass. It works really well and often when nothing else seems to work.

I bought the 24v Strikemaster from Dicks when they were running a 25% off one item sale. I used it last weekend for the first time and I am impressed! I can’t believe how fast it cuts through the ice. My old power auger I had to apply pressure for it to cut but this one once it starts cutting it pulls itself through. I didn’t need another drill and for the fishing I do this will work great for me.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishingdm wrote:</div>
After a bad experience with Line X I would not recommend them to anyone

What was your bad experience?

When they applied the liner they didn’t cover the truck leaving overspray covering the entire truck. They broke off a bolt for a tie down bracket and didnt bother fixing it or telling me about it. They also gouged the paint in a few spots to bare metal.

I would definitely atleast get a rubber bedmat.

After a bad experience with Line X I would not recommend them to anyone.

On my current truck I went to Arma coatings in Rogers and had a spray in liner applied. He did a fantastic job for a reasonable price. It is a similar product to line x but I would say it is a not quite as hard. He also sells and installs tonneau covers and other accessories. It is owned and operated by a veteran, very nice and knowledgeable guy. I put a rubber bed mat in as well and it keeps things from shifting around and is easier on the knees when having to crawl in the back.

I installed a truxedo truxsport tonneau cover and like it so far. I had a truxedo low pro on an old truck and that was good too.

Because there are businesses around the lake that refuse to adapt to the changes and take advantage of the opportunities available to promote and profit from, for example bass fishing. Some have done so and are doing well.

lindyrig79 wrote:

For those with experience on dealerships….does location matter for warranty work?

For example I was thinking I’d like to buy from the dealer closest to my house, in the event of warranty work or anything else it would be easy to swap vehicles with my wife if I can’t get a loaner. The close dealer doesn’t have what I want but said they could maybe dealer-swap and get it

The truck I want is 30 miles away. Does it matter if I buy it at the further dealer or should I see if they can swap and buy it from the closer dealer?

The location doesn’t matter, the dealership and their customer service after the sale is what you should be concerned about. I bought a brand new truck a year ago. I had some mechanical problems as well as a safety issue. They didn’t fix it the first time around and eventually told me to take it somewhere else for service and they refused to service it anymore. Even though I purchased an extended warranty through them. The manufacturer was no help either.

I was out this afternoon on the north end. Caught two 3lb smallies and one 20″ walleye. Caught them on a chatterbait.

I am new to the in ground sprinkler systems as well and I would definitely use it. This will be my second season with an in ground system, I’m still learning it but it’s not that hard. I don’t have a smart controller, I follow the weather and watch how much rain we get each week in my rain guage. I run my system so that the grass gets about 1 inch of water a week combined between the rain and the sprinklers. I would have an irrigation guy help you through it the first year, you will learn a lot. My neighbor is an irrigation guy and helped me last summer. Once you learn your system and yard it is not that hard, even replacing heads isn’t as hard as I thought would be. Also there are lots of helpful you tube videos out there.

I have a Competitor 165 CS on a shorelander roller trailer. I am able to get it through my 8 ft third car garage door. It is a very tight fit though, 1 inch to spare on each side. I have only done this a couple times to store it there for the winter. I wouldn’t do it on a regular basis.

Very sorry for your loss. He looks and sounds like a great dog. You gave him the best life a dog could get.

I would check with century link again. We are in wealthwood and they told me their circuits were full(couple years ago). However they have been doing system upgrades and their capacity and speeds have increased. Also mille lacs electric will be running fiber internet in the area soon.

Were the speaker cut outs filled in with something and you had to knock them out?