I had the same car damaged by two different hail storms, and one of them damaged our house roof (the car was at work the 2nd time it got hit).

I had the car fixed at a body shop the first time, the insurance premiums did not go up. The second time it got hailed on, it had lots of miles on it so we filed a claim and got a $1400 check from State Farm paying us for the reduced value of the car. Our insurance rates did not go up.

For the house, I had the State Farm adjustor look at the roof, selected a reputable roofer and had it fixed, and again, our insurance rates did not go up.

So, if I were you I would file the claim and either take the money or get it fixed.

A friend of mine is a professional fireman, a Captain.

He has told me in the past to turn your fire extinguisher upside down and shake it – a simpler form of the rubber mallet idea. Do this regularly.

Either way, the point is to get it upside down and reverse any settling that is going on.

Dave

As stated above on this thread (and not yet replied to)…

It would have been VERY helpful if the page of instructions on “recovering your account” had an prominent and easy-to-find link to the “recover password” page that begins that process.

The only link I can find to “Recover Password” is way at the bottom of each page on this site, in a tiny font, buried in several other standard links such as “Help” and “Contact Us”.

Why not have a “Click here to start this recovery process” link very prominently placed in the instructions you wrote telling how to USE this nearly-hidden page?

If you use a Mac, MPEG Streamclip is a great option.

My Canon camera produces huge movie files since it does not compress the audio.

I use iMovie for combining many clips into a movie, but if you only have one big clip, just drag it onto MPEG Streamclip.

After it opens, select “Export to Quicktime” and use AAC sound encoding. The result is much smaller and still sounds great.

Dave

I also tried Vanish in the past and it broke like crazy.

I now buy only Seaguar, they invented flouro.

My family has travelled with spinning rods, reels, and a small tackle box 3 round trips, from Minneapolis to Florida, St. John, and Grand Cayman. Never had any trouble, we always carry everything on, never checking any bags.

We use super-cheapie telescoping Shakespeare spinning rods which collapse down to around 16-18″ long. We separate the reels from the rods, they also carry on. A small tackle box (single clear Plano, about 6″ long) with a few hooks, sinkers, snap swivels, and jig heads/spinners is also carried on. We do not bring needle-nose pliers, we buy a cheap pliers at a hardware store after arriving. A small spool of mono line (for leaders) was along on at least one trip.

We have never had any TSA issues or even questions. I would abandon any tackle (hooks, etc) if challenged, since they are dirt cheap.

Based on our family’s experience last year (April 2013) do NOT hire Charlie Klug, (“Tarpon Adventures”). He is a nice guy, but not good fishing outcome, not good tackle provided, way worse overall than other trips to the Keys where I followed this advice:

Do research before your trip, and book the guide before your trip. The good ones will all be booked way in advance. The bad ones will be available nearly anytime.

Have fun – we LOVE the Keys. Hang out at Robbies, browse Worldwide Sportsman, eat OUTDOORS at great restaurants/bars – Lazy Days, Robbies, Lorelei, etc.

We have a Reata 1750 and love it. It is the older one rated for only 130hp max, so it has a 115 on it. It can pull a skier up out of the hole, but they need to be a good skier as it does not exactly pop them up instantly. It works just fine for pulling tubes and for the skiers I pull (who are quite good).

I suspect the bigger Reatas with bigger outboards will be just fine in that area.

I love how the boat handles and drives. It is primarily a fishing boat and works great for that. Love the layout, the jump seats, storage, etc.

Dave

Minocqua or Hayward.

Minocqua has several go-karting places for the kids, and one place has 3 different karting tracks, mini-golf and horseback riding all in one complex – my kids have enjoyed that place every summer for a long time (my in-laws live there). Lots of great fishing and golf of course too.

Hayward – as stated by many above – great fishing, shopping, and golf in that area.

Both have very nice main street areas full of shops, with nice “strolling the sidewalk” vibe.

We own 5 macs in our household. You asked about troubleshooting and having to relearn how to do it. I honestly don’t do ANY troubleshooting, they just work.

We have 4 mac laptops, the oldest is probably 20 years old, next oldest 10+ years old, and 2 fairly new ones – they ALL work great (the ancient one is just used for a few kids games).

I have 2 degrees in Computer Science and worked as a programmer for 16 years at IBM, so I can handle any complexity a computer throws at me. Given that, I HATE windows and dread when my wife’s parents have trouble with theirs, since I’m the helper guy.

Both from a hardware quality and software quality point of view, the Mac is far, far superior.

As someone else suggested, go to Best Buy or somewhere equivalent and play around on a Mac.

They just work. I don’t even know the last time I have rebooted any of ours, and we have never had any need for service or support in 20+ years of owning Macs.

Good luck,
Dave

I buy my sinkers in bulk from Catfish Connection.
I don’t see your exact kind, but many similar (bank sinkers):

http://catalog.catfishconnection.com/

just a customer…
Dave

I also recommend Al’s Specialty Marine in Rochester.

Here’s why:

I bought a Ranger Reata there. Several months later the pump that fills the livewell failed when I was on a 1 week fishing vacation (far away from Rochester).

The local Ranger dealer didn’t have the part, so I called Al’s just to ask them where else I could get one. Their sales manager Terry Smith asked me where I was, and Fed-Exed the part to me – it arrived the next day – at no cost. I hadn’t even considered asking him to do that – it was HIS idea.

When I told him how impressed I was with that service, he said: “Remember when you bought the boat and I told you we would take care of you? This is what I was talking about”.

Yes to the guy who said “Get a Tecumseh engine”!

I bought a used snowblower 12 years ago, it has a Tecumseh 10hp engine and ALWAYS starts on the first pull, even after sitting all summer.

I also have Cooper AT3’s on my truck. My mechanic sells lots of tires to lots of his customers (owns a small service station) and he told me about them. They have been great in the snow and ice this winter.

It is not correct to say no trolling is allowed on Class A lakes in Wisc. My family owns a cabin on a lake rated “Class A1” for musky, and trolling is allowed on that lake (Whitefish lake, Sawyer county).

fishing regs (see ‘specregscounty’ section):
http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/FH/FH0301.pdf

musky classifications:
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/documents/musky/WisconsinMuskellungeWaters2012.pdf

Look up the lake you plan to fish in that first link (regs) and see what the “special regulations” are – it will say “Motor trolling is permitted” if you can troll there.

May winter end soon!

Dave

I have had good luck with seeding just before the first snowfall. No watering, no de-thatching, just let the spring snow melt water the seed and up comes the grass – the lazy way to grow grass. I’ll be doing some seeding this week.

I will also recommend Bellisio’s, my wife and I have been there several times over the years, mainly for lunch. We really love their menu. It is right down in Canal Park, a fun area with tons of shops and waterfront. It does not have a view – but has a great Italian atmosphere.

Dave

There is a video tribute to Jim set to the music of the new song on John Gillespie’s web site:

Gillespie Fishing

I have had phone calls and email exchanges with WI DNR employees in the Hayward area, both initiated by me. Both of the DNR scientists I contacted were very helpful and knowledgable.

The phone exchange was regarding controlling beavers destroying trees on our lakefront. The DNR scientist is a trapper himself, but referred me to another non-DNR trapper who I hired.

The email exchange was initiated by an article in the Hayward newspaper, quoting a DNR employee regarding new fishing regulations for one lake. I emailed him asking for similar changes on our lake, and we had a nice exchange, he was very detailed and spent a fair amount of time answering my questions – he wrote me a LONG, and helpful email – it made it into our lake association newsletter.

So, try contacting DNR fishing staff directly.

Dave

I made my own, a “hopped up” 12v electric drill hooked to my hand auger. I hacked one of the drill batteries by replacing the cells with cables running to a big 12v SLA battery in my ice fishing sled. I’ve always been able to drill all the holes I’ve wanted, a few dozen typically.

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxGoAi7zm5c

We also have a Ranger Reata 1750, and love it. Ours has the F115 Yamaha since it is the 2008 model only rated for 130hp. It is used 90% fishing, and 10% skiing and tubing. I’d get the same boat in a second, but with the F150 – the F115 is a bit pokey out of the hole.

Good luck,
Dave

Yes, these islands are public, and the beaches and adjacent sand bars are REALLY nice, great for kids. I’ve been to Nesbitt many times, my parents are on that lake.

Have fun!
Dave