Ogre

I've never met a beer I couldn't drink. A lot.

I agree with your assessment of Carrier. I actually think he plays Foligno's role much more effectively. I don't agree on Baptiste though. He seemed weak to me last year. I seem to remember him being a healthy scratch quite a few times. Carriers +14 vs Baptiste's -3 seems in line with how they looked to me on ice. I'll be interested to see how he does in the A this year. We both agree that Fasching and Bailey have the better shot. I've been getting all giddy thinking about all that live hockey. Are you close enough for Amerks hockey?

That last play by the Colts was good fun.

Pretty good plan.

I'm wondering what you see in Baptiste that earns him a potential top 3 line and what is lacking in Carrier as a maybe top 3. I've seen my fare share of Baptiste and can't see him even playing in the nhl. A call up maybe someday. I believe Carrier could be productive at that level but that's even a maybe. If I were back on the pond picking from a group I'd pick Carrier every time.

Do you blanch them before freezing? I thought about pickling some of the minis but I'd like to have some in the freezer too. I was going to do some salsa but my ghosts have just started to come on and the habanero didn't survive the dry spell before I started irrigation. The only other hot that survived were the red hot cherry which are just starting to ripen. I also mixed my plants up so the mammoth tomato and squash plants have buried the hot stuff in the last few weeks. I'll be better prepared next year.

Big day canning and pickling tomatoes and tongue pickles with the multitude of over ripe cucumbers. Our third growing season here and first successful garden. This spring I finished the walkout basement project which includes a retaining wall/raised bed fenced in garden that I filled with 6 yards of Vermigreen's red worm organic compost. It was so light and fluffy that I had a tough time keeping plants wet enough and was sure I'd fail again. After a month of steady 30 seconds of water an hour the soil settled and developed the right bacterial colonies and things exploded in growth. We can't keep up with production. Next Sunday it's more pickles, yellow squash and beets the size of softballs(they're growing right on top of the soil). I haven't noticed any larger than normal size of my peppers. If anything they're smaller and far more plentiful than I've ever experienced. My mini jalapeño have 15 or more per plant. Much hotter than normal too. I'm even going to have yellow baby watermelon ripen. I'm buying Vermigreen's red worm kit next year to make my own compost. This stuff is gold. I'll try to post a pic which may be over my pay grade. I'll try though.

Mrs. iT and I were looking for a place close by that we've never had dinner at tonight and decided we'd try cafe Sol in Bristol. We've had weekend breakfast there many times but never really thought about it for dinner. Neither of us were disappointed. Nice little place with live music and a nice atmosphere. We sat outside and watched the storms roll in. The owner is Norwegian I believe but with Bristol mtn so close it also had a bit of a crunchy feel. Nedloh had the run on draft beers. I'm close to the brewery but unfortunately do not like their style. I had a Nedloh amber that was good but ambers are forgiving to brew and with me being a hop head anyways I decided to move on. I switched to the southern tier IPA. I ordered the one special they had. Lemon pepper cod over a bed of wild quinoa and rice. Mrs. iT had the turkey pot pie with some of the best veloute sauce I've had. It was topped with a puff pastry that stood a mile high. Great place.

Dick's is right next door to the brew store. My ass thanks you for the tip. My industry is very aware of the bias towards us. Our history as an organization is my favorite course to deliver to the apprentices. We have a saying at the international level, "when we do something bad they call us the Ironworkers, when we do something right they call us the steelworker."....D'oh! You would be interested in the story of the Ironworker shoring contractor that shut down his job down the street from the federal building that was bombed in Oklahoma City and brought his entire crew and equipment over to help rescue the preschoolers. Tragically it took three days before the response team let them go to work. I'm glad they let us do what we do when 9/11 happened.

I appreciate your kind words. They reinforce the resolve of the dedicated.

I know this thread has been mostly about exercise but I have a tale tell about sweat. 12 hr days setting and splicing bridge girders which means driving 15/16 drift pins into 15/16 holes with and eight pound hammer, climbing, wrestling 40,000 lb girders, etc. Past two days have been scorchers. So hot that two of the younger guys lost their lunch at about 3:30. I've had 25 yrs to adjust to the brutality but I'm still a sweaty bastard from a line line of sweaties. I gush sweat. One of the youngsters told me this morning that he'd never seen a person sweat like me. Everyone is mindful of where I am on the iron because I'll soak you if you get below me. I'm wet all 12 hrs. So wet that I am chaffing in places no human ever should. I'm disgusting. I choose to look at the positives though. I'm getting paid to work out 12 hrs a day. Haven't been to the gym in two weeks and I look better than I did when I was going!

I am spending my holiday reflecting. I think about things like the Haymarket Affair, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the Mayday Massacre. I think about strong individuals that put their own personal lives aside and dedicate their lives to the plight of labor like Mother Jones and Samuel Gomphers. I think about all those souls whose lives were dedicated to an employer in a most often times failing attempt to better the lives of their families. I think about the consequences of their untimely deaths. Then I think about the men that I've known personally who have suffered, died and have left a family to struggle without them. I remember the calling hours and seeing the faces of children whose dad is lying a box, just over there by the flowers. IMO labor is vital to a strong economy that grows constantly. Labor is the scaffolding that holds it all up as the pieces are being placed. We are the grease that keeps the wheels turning. Labor is the force that realizes the dreams of the few that employ. Yep. I'll take my time this holiday the be thankful for my lot in life and strengthen my resolve to do all I can to lift up and provide a better lot in life for those that are struggling. Unity is a powerful thing. We should all revisit the idea.

I want to sign that little dude up for the Ironworkers. We need guys like him.

Man I remember when I was a kid up North seeing those colors and being drawn like a moth to light. The Nords red white and blue felt like home but those Sabres caught my eye.

That name feels better. That's the one that's always popped up when I've seen that avatar. I feel I need a name change myself. The reference to tin in the periodic table was an obscure reference to "putting on the foil". I'm a putting in the foil type of guy. I think it was PA that first used iT in my reference. If anything I think I'm more of an iT than anything else. One day when I'm not battling bad guys I may make the switch.

That's what you get for looking just like Marchand.

The festering pimple of a relationship between the head foreman and me came to a head today so I popped it. I lit that dirt bag up. He is no longer the boss and no longer allowed to step foot in this local again. I win. You don't come to our local and treat our people that way. Ever. Good luck in your future endeavors, . For the first time this week I am sporting a smile that wasn't induced by alcohol. An honest to goodness smile of pleasure. I am simply glowing.

Winning! Survived to whine again tomorrow! In all seriousness, super dangerous trade combined with a growing need for peeps=sketchy. The worst part and biggest complaint I have? The head foreman(from out of town and dude I am steward to keep in check) looks just like Marchand...an even bigger rat though.

I'm the sort of fellow who tries not to complain much but I am compelled to do so today. I finished up a one of kind project a few weeks ago(I fully intend to eventually post some pics) and after a few weeks rest I've moved on to the next one. The company has two young guys as our foreman which is fine other than the fact that they don't know their from holes in the ground. As the senior guy, union steward and local officer(that these guys have elected to represent them) I have finally seen more than my patience can handle and layed down the law this morning. There is no more stupidity allowed on my site. I have the authority to send you down the road if need be and I have absolutely no fear in doing it. If you don't like it or me then don't vote for me next time. Simple . I absolutely do not care. I'd like to stay alive the 11 years until I can collect my pension. No more heads up around me!! Wake the F up!!! If I suddenly disappear from this site it is most likely because some F'n idiot F'n killed me on a job site!

Yep. Very different situations. Alleged DWI seems like a stupid thing to do. Domestic violence and alleged assault with a deadly weapon seems like an insane thing to do.

My family are all up North and don't travel. Long before my wife. I had a wonderful young adult life. That xmas tree was the hit of that xmas season. Freedom, man. Je me souviens.

I used to love those Randy's. One year I saved them all and hung them on my xmas tree.

I am sorry for you. I surmise from reading your posts over the years that you're the sort that has an empathetic nature. Love is love no matter what living being we share that bond with. I'm from that same fabric. I've lost two since last Nov. and I still hear their voices in my house. One comes in my dreams every so often and I have this overwhelming feeling that they aren't gone at all. They're somewhere safe and wonderful waiting for my day.

I'll lose the open expression of love for these guys when the nhl returns to QC. I've been completely converted to wny hockey clubs. I'm a Sabres/Amerks fan at heart now. I'll only have a small crush on QC if they take the Nordiques name.

I've seen Carrier quite a bit since he's been an Amerk. He plays like a bigger player than Larrson. Maybe he's just stronger? He has better hockey skills than Foligno(hands/vision) and can get away with dangling at times. I guess to me he'd be the player I'd want over the other two. Never thought that highly of Larrson but if he keeps his price low why not? Foligno has shown me all he can at this point.