Typical summer lull around here.

[Thumper]

Arty mentioned how slow it has been around this joint ... and it really has been. BUT ... thinking back ... it's the typical "summer lull". I remember the few years after we started this site ... every time summer rolled around, I thought the site was going down the tubes toward failure. It's been an historical slow period and happens every year. School years are ending, kids are getting ready to graduate, summer vacations are planned and executed, etc. etc. etc. I remember I'd always miss Big Sky's posts because once school let out ... he'd totally disappear. Captain's always out cutting hay (and farts). Things just generally slow down to a crawl this time of year. I'll be the first to admit, it sucks to check in here for my daily "shot in the arm" and find nobody has posted anything for the past 24 hours! Dang! It's hard to face the day without starting out with the morning jolt (I don't drink coffee).

BUT .. it's par for the course historically.

Personally, I've been BURIED with "office work". My home office started getting really cramped as my eBay "business" grew and I've decided to clear the place out and set it up as a legitimate business so-to-speak. I've been emptying file cabinets and shredding TONS of personal papers ... mostly from my old business files. It's extremely time consuming as I really need to read a lot of it to determine whether it gets shredded or kept. I have tax papers dating all the way back to the 70's! Why? I have no clue ... just something I'd always file and never throw away. I have piles of paperwork (two FULL filing cabinets) from my business of 20 years. ALL invoices were in triplicate and filed separately. One filed alphabetically, one filed numerically and one that would go from a receivables file to the paid file. I'm grinding it all. On the positive side ... I'm finding tons of stuff I "thought" I'd lost ... or simply things I'd forgotten I even had. But ... bottom line ... I'm too busy to play here. On the selfish side, I ALWAYS check in and read ... I simply don't take the time to post much.

It's like missing my daily "fix" when I manage to take a short break, check in here, and find there have been no posts since the last time I checked in. This place is like a drug ... it's addicting ... and without my "fix", the withdrawals kick in!

[BarryBobPosthole]

We have been in a never ending process to do the same thing you're doing, Thumper. Why did we ever think it was necessary to keep all of those check registers and cancelled checks? I can recall ONCE ever needing them in my life and I could have just as easily gotten the check image from the bank. that and old manuals for literally everything we own or have owned. Its just crazy. I wonder if I'm a borderline hoarder? Credit card statements for the last 20 years.......the list goes on and on. And it almost all has to be shredded.

BKB

[Thumper]

I've been digging through EVERYTHING you mentioned above. I'm with you ... old checks and bank statements ... from TWO sources ... business and personal. WHY on earth did I keep all those credit card statements? If all the charges were legit and the balance was correct, why keep them? (same with bank statements ... if the book balances ... chunk the statements!)

One thing that helped nudge me into doing this was the fact I bought a very nice, professional-grade, cross-cut shredder at an estate sale a few weeks ago for pennies on the dollar. Before, all I had was a cheapo trash can sized shredder that shreds in strips and fills up in no time flat. The new shredder handles 25 sheets at a time and has a bin the size of a 10-gallon trash can! It sure speeds up the process.

[Thumper]

Picked one'a these puppies up for $20 ... the best $20 I've spent lately! It grinds paper, credit cards and even cd's.

http://www.consumerreports.org/content/dam/cro/news_articles/Electronics/Consumer%20Reports%20Paper%20Shredder%20Review-Staples_SPL-TXC22A.jpg http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0281779_sc7?$sku$

[Arty]

I'm a paperwork hoarder as well. I've got receipts for things we bought 17 years ago when we it married. Our first set of cookware. Why the hell would I save that?!? No clue.

[Thumper]

Yeah Arty, I found a file marked "home repairs" from when we bought this house in frigging 1989!! Just receipts from little crap I did around the place after we moved in. Like you ... I think I had manuals for everything we've ever owned ... crap that has broken/worn out and been disposed of years ago. I guess I have a good habit of filing everything ... just a bad habit of never thinning out the "hoard".

[BarryBobPosthole]

Speaking of which, I have the service/shop manual for Evinrude/Johnson motors that covers about 7-8 years and almost every size engine. Wonder if it covers HH's motor? I need to go look! (And THAT'S why I horde)

BKB

[Thumper]

I do have ONE rule ... NEVER throw away shop manuals.

[BarryBobPosthole]

There are several grease smeared pages in that manual. I owned several cranky and crochety old Evinrude and Johnson motors in my boating career and all of them had to go to the operating table at one point or another. Even had the lower unit apart on the old BWJ and replaced a part called a 'clutch dog'. Used a cigarette paper in lieu of the correct gauge to determine the mesh on the gear. Worked on old car trannies, figured it'd work there too. It was still running when I got rid of that boat.
then I bought this Merc. In 14 years of service, I've never had the cowling off of the engine on this boat. And that is the God's honest truth.

BKB

[Big Muddy]

I very much agree, and see ya'lls point....I'm a hoarder, too, but last year, I shredded a bunch of old farm stuff from 1990 thru 2000.

Low and behold, this past February, I get a nasty letter in the mail from the USDA, stating their computer had made an error on my 1992 and 1993 wheat crops, which I had put into their gov't loan program....they, now, demanded a reimbursement payment....btw, when dealing with the gov't, they don't honor many statute of limitations, if they even THINK you owe them money.

They stated that if I disagreed with their computer figures, and could otherwise, prove my yields from those years, they would withdraw their demand for payment.

I had shredded all my crop receipts....and, the grain elevator's history, where I delivered the wheat, only goes back 10 years.

They were generous, and gave me 30 days to make full payment(bullsheeit !!!)....then, allowed me another 90 days to, somehow, come up with the production evidence....if so, they will reimburse my money(more bullsheeit !!!)

That little episode has cost me $7,890 bucks, and I have no way of contesting it....so, I ain't shredding ANY farm sheeit, ever again.

[Big Skyz]

Well I ain't dead, nor have I totally vanished off the planet. I have been pretty busy. I've been doing quite a bit of fishing, but hesitate to post photos anymore because I'm sure they are getting pretty repetitious and boring for y'all. I guess I'llpost this photo from evening before last. I suppose you choose to look at it, or ignore it. Makes no difference to me as I'll be heading back out to fish either way. Aside from the fishing next week I have to make a big presentation to an audience of 400-500 people in regards to education in Montana schools. Has me a little keyed up and nervous but I'll get through it. Also have a few other fun less stressful events planned with friends and family this summer that will keep me from posting much. However, I do check in now and then just to see what's going on. Then again, in the summer time checking in once a week is about all it takes. ;)

Caught this one Tuesday afternoon out of a tiny spit of a creek. Considering the size of the skinny water this fish was uncommonly big. Gave me a great fight and put a big smile on my face once I landed it. Took a couple photos and slipped it right back into the water to fight again another day. :)
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh113/Huntzz/Troy6-10-1418andhalfinchBrown_zpse1cd74fd.jpg

[BarryBobPosthole]

Man, that just sucks big green donkey dicks. Wonder if you shouldn't consider maybe putting those docs on film or just having somebody scan all of them into a simple little database you can use? That way you don't have to keep the physical paper.

BKB