I joined here in 2006 and have been killing time here ever since. I guess a lot has changed since then both for me and in the world in general.
I'm still amazed at the depth of knowledge here on most any topic. There are more mouthy [bleep] here but there are still a lot of good guys....smart guys too. I like that there is little to no moderation so I put up with it. I ignore a lot of folks but have no one on ignore. When it gets to the point that an internet post by someone I don't know and most likely will never meet ruins my day I will sign off for good, turn in my man card, and check into a rest home. Years ago I frequented the GON (Georgia Outdoor News) forum and was trying to post a link. In it were the letters BS in consecutive order. I could not post it for the censor. I noted in the post that the letters were Bee Ess and got jumped for trying to type around the censor. Decided the place was not for me.
I've gotten more political since 2006, seeing the country is going rapidly to hell in a handbasket. I suppose occasionally ranting here with like minded people is a relief valve for the stress this causes. Members post up so much news and event material you literally could keep pretty well informed just hanging out here. The overt, naked hatred that is displayed here toward anything related to God is troublesome but is a sign of the times and if you want to little to no moderation you have to take the good with the bad. People feel more free to disrespect each other these days both online and in person. I had a punk mouth off at me at the auto parts store the other day. We both were going for the same check out person but I realized he was ahead of me and told him to go ahead and he replied something to the effect of I had better. I'm 55, he was probably in his twenties but he was a large dazzling urbanite and I am afraid they have been trained to hate white people....those of that age anyway. In a sane world, he probably would have told me to go first because of my age or just gone ahead without saying anything. I suppose he thought he would kick my ass in the parking lot had I gotten belligerent with him, not seeming to know that there was more to me than met the eye......if you know what I mean. Anyway, I digress.
Hunting and fishing? I still fish quite a bit. Haven't been deer hunting in a couple of years. Prior to that for 8 or 9 years I was in a situation that spoiled me. I had access to a large tract of private land along with a few other guys who were terrific to be around. All we had to do was keep the place up, report trespassers, and buy insurance on ourselves in exchange for hunting privileges. Our rules were state law. If the state said you could shoot it, you could shoot it. No BS antler restrictions, nobody got "fined" for shooting something too small, too big, or too whatever. I'd probably have to pay upwards of four grand to be in a "club" like that now and the BS would be thick. I just have not been motivated to find a place. I have some family property I could hunt but its real small and there are people moving in around it. Not the same as it was.
Fishing is also a shell of its former self. There are simply too many people in this part of the country. Are there any people left in the North? Seems all of them moved here, bought a boat, and took up fishing. Thus making necessary all kinds of creel and size limits if you can find something to bite in the first place. I don't even attempt to go on weekends anymore. You need reservations for a place to park in the river if you do. Even on weekdays you have a fair amount of company.
Pics? I choose not to post them because I value anonymity this day and time and I am not out to impress anyone.
The fire may be dying because message boards are so 2006. Fakebook and its ilk have sorta taken over social media in case anyone hasn't noticed. Evidently people don't mind getting censored and put on timeout like a misbehaving 5 year old. That is not for me.
