BtB

BtB is " ban the plastic bag ". In science BtB is an acronym for bromthymol blue. I digress.
FYI - for about 4 - 5 yrs now T.O. has had a by-law that required stores to sell plastic bags at 5 cents each. The aim was to reduce the use of plastic. We would ostensibibly carry our own bags into the store or buy a carry all as they say over the pond.

Well, the five cent issue per bag was raised and the city council decided that no plastic bags could be provided by a store. The new rule starts on something 2013. We are on the cutting edge of ....... I give. I understand plastic is ubiquitous and long lasting in a bio-degradable sense. In fact bio-degradable is exactly what most plastic is not.
Therefore if there is a sudden glut of cheap carry bags in your neck of the woods , this surplus would originate in T.O.
Of course, we Ontarians will adapt, adjust and move on.

My thoughts are definitely turning to fishing.
B/c I fish in the winter for 6 weeks, normally I don't have the fire in the belly syndrome 'til around now. As well , my aim has been to finish up chores around QMH before I turn to recreation on the water. Further this season was delayed by the trip to UK and the subsequent clean / trim and sweep of the past two weeks.

FYI - I own a bass boat. Yep, the kind that goes roaring around in fishing tournaments on TV. To see this boat go to www. stratos.com and click on model 176 XT
I have been told that I am a tournament fisherman that doesn't fish tournaments. This sobriquet is either a massive insult or a political way of down-playing the mania that I display.
Part of this mania is the result of the realization that I'm not particularly, good at much. I would say my talents lean toward organizing tools rather than employing tools.

I do putter and can reasonably fix things. E.g. this week the gas trimmer was acting up.
The trimmer would idle ( roughly ) and on pressing the trigger would cut out. Two hours later, I have the trimmer to the point where it will not cut out but spins in idle. This spinning in idle is not safe. Thus, next step is stop the spin in idle.

However, it does seem that I spend an inordinante amount of time re-inventing the wheel.  That is what I call some of my tinkering.
I sort of take a structure and then try to re-use the object.

In my mind, is the task of making a wheel barrow or garden truck out of wheels lying around QMH and home. I could buy a garden truck / barrow for about 89 $ made of plastic.
However, " the struggle is the glory " you know my favourite line from the " Ghost and the Darkness " ( see previous posts on movies - or ask and I'll explain the origin ).

Another example, involved the bass boat cover. For two years , I had the bass boat kept at a marina in the water. Exposed to the elements, the boat would fill w/ water. To wit, I had an automatic bilge pump installed. The system would kick on if more than 2 " of water was in the hold.
I decided that I needed a cover for the boat. my neighbours had a V - hull fishing boat w/ a snap on cover, perfect. I had no snaps and no way or place to affix the cover.
At a local garden / tool outlet called Lee Valley, I purchased tarp grips that are re-usable. I bought a boat cover and used the grips to grab the edges of the cover. To keep the cover taut ( so rain would run off ), I further filled plastic torpedo bottles w/ water and suspended the bottle over the boat gunwales attached to the grips by these handy little Lee Valley bottle caps w/ hooks. Some tinkering was required to force the water to run from the middle of the boat to the edges and off the cover.

Later, a fellow boater saw the contraption and told the marina owners that it was a waste of effort that I went through. The owners Deb and John told the man that the system that I used was the only one that they had ever seen that worked, consistently. YES, felt so good. Now if you could have heard the swearing that went on during the trial period, that would be something different.

I suppose its not really bragging if you do it and it works. In many ways, I feel like the Thomas Edison quote when he failed repeatedly to find a filament for the light bulbs that he was inventing. " I have not failed, I have discovered one thousand ways not to make a light bulb ".

So come see the garden trolley... maybe.