Swamp Fly

Flies that can be deformed (hackled dry flies etc.) I store in the craft boxes already mentioned. A lot of steamers, deerhair bugs, topwater flies also go into the same sort of box but those with adjustable compartments to accommodate for the fly size. Flies that could be stored in plastic sleeves go into soft plastic bait binders/wallets, the kind you would use for rubber worms etc. The bindr/wallets I have are basically a flat cordura zippered pouch with heavy duty ziplocks in them. Years ago I found some with all plastic zippers including the sliders, great for SW use. I loosely zip-tie a few together and then use a cheap aluminum carabiner to clip the bundle the to the strap of my tackle bag. That keep a whole lot of bulk out of the interior of the bag. One binder is nothing but Clousers Deep Minnows in various colors and sizes. EP style flies dominate another. I used to use plastic sleeves for off water storage but decided it was more work than it was worth and was a waste of plastic they now either go into "use" boxes/binders or into craft boxes. Swamp

Steve, I saw this yesterday but I just could bring myself to respond at the time. Sorry for that. I hope you understand. Wow. I can sympathize, I just lost my dog right before Christmas. We have both have had a similar year or so, this just tears everything open again. I'm glad you recognized what was happening and were able to make the call. I think not taking action at the end is my worst fear as a pet owner. Animals are very good at hiding pain and illness, cats particularly so. So thank you for that. I wish there was something I could say or do but we both know that it only goes but so far. I hope you can find some respite where you can. Be well and know that I am thinking about you and your family. Swamp P.S. I have a 16+ pound Norwegian Forest cat that would live in my lap if I let him. I like big cats, they tend to be less neurotic on average!

Pyme, I'm not sure why you think I commented on the actual medical quality of VA care. As far as offering an opinion about the VA or anything else for that matter, well with all due respect I am perfectly capable of and will form an informed opinion given reliable information. While it is true that I have never been treated by the VA, I do have close personal friends that have and continue to be treated there. No one that I have personally talked to about the VA has had parts fall or anything horrid but I don't really poke at the subject either. I will continue to assume that the actual hands on quality of care is reasonable unless consistently shown otherwise. I also have a very close friend that after she left the U.S. Army was a doctor for the VA. She once refused to operate on a patient because of faulty and dangerous equipment. Obviously the doctors can be just as frustrated. She and the VA parted ways shortly after that. Mike obviously has had a different experience from you and given the scope of that situation it is more than just unfortunate. Mike has never given me any reason to believe that he is anything other than honorable (not saying you have!) so I believe him. From first hand experience I know that type of scenario is not exclusive to the VA but I will take his experience and consider it in my overall opinion. Most of my friends have complained about the wait to get treated at one time or another and were thankful they didn't need emergency "anything". Yes if it is a blood spurting type of emergency I agree, go to the nearest ER. That said you shouldn't have to ever wait weeks or months to be seen by a cardiologist on a referral from anoter doctor. Look I'm not knocking the VA and if you thought that I was then I do apologize. My opinion is that the VA does a lot of good for a lot of people. I just feel that if you put yourself on the line for this country you shouldn't have to wait for pretty much anything that you were promised in exchange for that service, VA or otherwise. That is not a comment on the quality of care but more the timing of it upon occasion. The fact of the matter is that I have much more personal experience, first and second hand, with maltreatment in the private sector than I have heard about from people that I trust talking about the VA. I have no idea if the percentage of complaints is higher for one side or the other. You say you have had good experiences and I am glad to hear it, really. I think you certainly deserve that and everyone else does too regardless of treatment at the VA or in the private sector. I will also acknowledge that most people including myself tend to be more vocal about negative dealing rather than positive so I am much more likely to hear about grouchiness therefore I do take things with a grain of salt. So maybe we can both agree to spend more time on the water when we can, as often as we can, and catch some fish instead of disagreeing about things we don't personally have the ability to change. Well at least I don't, I shouldn't assume you don't. LOL. Doesn't mean we can't talk about it though. Perhaps if fate has it in mind I may even have the pleasure of throwing a line with you one day, who knows. Swamp

13 years younger? Cradle robber...lol!

Bwahahaha!

I'm sure a heated paint booth could be found. Though I have to say I think Mike would get a lot of grief with a spoiler like that on the back of his Transport.

Steve I think the plan is to have you paint it next time he comes for a visit! Swamp

First class job as always! Swamp

That is a tough pill to swallow. I've had to swallow one like it, not for myself but for my wife. It sucks. Period. Docs don't often admit it but they don't have a crystal ball that can see into the future. In fairness that isn't just an ego thing, I think that most of them are trying to to put up a facade of all knowing to put their patience at ease especially when they feel there is something to be done. The point is that they just don't know one way or another. My wife was given 2 years, instead she lived for another 17 to the amazement and joy of some of the best specialists we could find. There were a lot of really good times in those 17years, way more than two years worth that is for sure. She was able to see two continents, watch her niece grow up, and do a heck of a lot of laughing. Were there some tough times? Sure there were, it's a tough steep road to climb and she fought to the last. As she put it when she was first diagnosed she still "had things to do". I wouldn't trade a minute of any of the time we had, the bad times were more than worth it for the good. I'm not saying to ignore the medical advice you have been given, please make your arrangements, do what needs to be done, get treated or don't as you see fit. What I am saying is don't mark a date on the calendar and think that's it. If you enjoy tying then keep your gear, write down what you want done with it when you are gone whenever that may be. In reality we all should make those kinds of arrangements regardless of our health. Plan on doing something enjoyable. Plan on the next thing after that. Enjoyable things can range from a trip around the world to a trip around the park. It's all relative. You are going to need help and support, accept it graciously. I might add to please support those people right back, they'll need it. My best wishes to you and the people around you. Be positive, stay your course, don't loose your smile. Fair winds and tight lines. P.S. Go to the best specialists that you can find and are willing to travel to. It makes a difference.

Well you have been on fire lately... It's an interesting backdrop, I like it. You could use it for some interesting shots to accentuate ultra modern flys or just the opposite with very traditional flys. Having the heat sink on a SBC CPU would increase the effect. The trick would be to not "loose" the fly in the composition. PS/Gimp is your friend. Swamp

Is that a heat sink?

Happy holidays to you too! Have a good break. Swamp

Isn't that the truth! The customer is always right even when they are wrong, if it turns out the customer was actually wrong then you take the blame. That's the reality of making things for other people. Swamp

Vincente, I particularly like the first two! The chefs looks like it needs to be put to work and the pairing knife has a great Saxe blade profile that I have a strong affinity for to begin with (I like the Migration era). Swamp

Mark, very nice indeed! I'm a big believer in form follows function and you nailed it while still adding some artistic embellishment. Too often I see knives that look like they are either thrown together with bailing wire and rough shaped or they have so much superfluous stuff added that they look like a goth teenager that went on a piercing binge and can now no longer do anything but sit in moms basement for fear of having something torn off by the shrubbery outside. Again good stuff. Very generous client you have there. Swamp P.S. Three guesses as to which pair Mike would choose! LOL

Cool! Looking forward to seeing this come together. Swamp

Nice! Swamp

Very nice! Thank you for sharing. Swamp

Thanks, she was special to us. The cat misses the dog too he has been totally attention needy, bloody roof rabbit... I put my foot through a door in my house earlier this year. That was about the time I realized that I needed to step away from work, it was making me a very angry person. That would have ended poorly, this way I left on good terms. I explained to the owner why I was leaving and he hated it but supported me. I say left but I still get sucked in every once in a while, amazing how often I go in. As far as distractions and projects, I've been alternating between totally unmotivated and getting things done in a mania. Wish I could find a middle ground. Swamp

Steve I can sympathize, it's been a rough one. I was hoping these holidays would be a little better than the last but as it turns out on top of everything else I had to have my dog put down last weekend. Yup you guessed it, it was cancer. We never had children, just the dog and the cat. Tore everything open again. Every time I see something of the dog's I end up thinking about the hours with my wife. Remember you are not alone both in thought and in process. For me sometimes it helps to know that there are others that are in the @#$% with me and truly understand. Focus on the good times. If I don't focus on those good times it hardens me and fills me with anger. I don't want to become that person permanently. I hope you can find a few moments of respite in the next weeks. I'll raise a glass to you and yours. Enjoy your project as best as you can. Peace... Swamp

Oh SNAP! I'm grabbing popcorn... Actually Mike can't get elected, he isn't elitist enough. He uses BOTH fly and conventional gear, can't have that in today's political climate. Swamp

Honestly I think Orwell would be horrified... I know I'm probably overly cautious, but I to me it's like leaving your front door wide open with a cold beer and a wad of cash sitting on the table in full view. Someone is just going to disapoint you. The fact is if someone really wants inside they can do it with enough drive and time, working in the vault/safe industry taught me that. No such thing as burglary proof. I just don't see any reason to make it easy. Thanks everyone. Hopefully I'll get all of this settle in short order and then post up some flies. Right now I've got it down to two choices so I'll dig in and figure it out. Swamp P.S. Mike, one person says that stopped them from doing more good, the next says it stopped them from doing more harm! LOL I'm so glad I've never had the slightest interest in a political career, the stink of it makes me ill on the best of days.

Good news indeed and I agree! Swamp

Eide, Wow! I don't know much about traditional salmon flies but to my eye that is as good as I've seen anywhere. Flytier, one look and I thought big bream... Scott, you have just been on fire lately. Cream, not only are your ties superb but the consistency is great. Kimo, when I grow up I wanna tie like you. Swamp

Guess I wasn't very clear about what I meant by auto upload. Some of the services I have looked at tout automatic uploading of all your images, as in if it's on your computer they will find it and upload it automatically for you. While I have not dealt with this on the web itself some of the software that came bundled on my computer basically found every image on my computer and then imported them into it's own file system whether I wanted that or not. I spent many hours undoing that. That was an eye opening event. If I ask a site to upload particular images then yes auto resizing etc. is welcome, but I want control over what gets uploaded and when. Mike, yup that does work. I'd rather not start creating dead links in old posts (and not just here) when I run out of space and have to delete old photos. Free Image Post is one of the services that caught my eye, good to know it works well. Oh yes Google/Facebook etc. have more info on us than any government, oh wait that IS where governments are getting real time information now days... I do try to keep work related things on my work only devices but the line gets somewhat blurry at times. I just don't want images uploaded without my express permission. The generation that is coming into adulthood now has never had real privacy. Their whole lives are there to read like an open book, I hope it doesn't bite them in the butt down the road. When Suzy is up for that CEO job later in life I hope those pictures from Spring Break don't surface. Johnny might get canned if that offhand comment he posted 30 years ago is taken out of context. I don't understand why people want to share the minutia of their lives online, never will, I just don't care if someone have the vapors last night. I suppose they don't understand why I won't share all that stuff. Sort of like why I use a screen name on the open forum and use my given name in private messages. So yeah you are right I really should be using a TOR sever etc. for surfing the web and I might set one up sometime. In the meantime I just want to control what I reasonably can. Wow that was a tangent on my part LOL, sorry. Swamp