Pond Boss
Posted By: Bill Duggan The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 04:16 PM
Let's go back in time before this current forum, we had the first forum. It was a continuous thread where you posted a question and mostly Bob would reply. I remember my first question, I had just finished my pond and were concern about all the bubbles. People not liking change just about revolted when the new site was introduced.
My question is who is left over from the old site?
Bob, Dave, ewest I think, who else

BTW it changed in 2002
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 04:45 PM
I seem to remember that there was some kind of set-up before it became that continuous thread.
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 04:53 PM
You go back before me then
Posted By: george1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 05:03 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill Duggan
Let's go back in time before this current forum, we had the first forum. It was a continuous thread were you posted a question and mostly Bob would reply. I remember my first question, I had just finished my pond and were concern about all the bubbles. People not liking change just about revolted when the new site was introduced.
My question is who is left over from the old site?
Bob, Dave, ewest I think, who else

BTW it changed in 2002

Bill, I was there in 2001 or maybe before when it was just a continuing thread - ask Lusk a question and get answer.
I remember Dave Davidson and Bill Cody - maybe Cecil Baird?
George
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 05:06 PM
I was thinking Bill Cody to, want to hear from Cecil
Posted By: Bing Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 05:19 PM
I was there.
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 05:20 PM
I was not there on the old forum, but I think these guys were:

1) Dave Davidson
2) Cecil
3) George Glazener
4) Lusk (obviously)
5) Cody


That's just going from memory hearing those guys talk about the way it used to be.
Posted By: Bing Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 08:18 PM
Originally Posted By: Sunil
I was not there on the old forum, but I think these guys were:





Rookie!
Posted By: Tums Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 08:42 PM
Wish I would have been there.
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 10:12 PM
My fault, Bing & Bill Duggan!
Posted By: JKB Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 10:30 PM
Originally Posted By: Sunil
My fault, Bing & Bill Duggan!


Bing should have pic's from esshup's gig back in July! I know he was doing some clicking, but never saw any. What's up with that?
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 11:10 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill Duggan
I was thinking Bill Cody to, want to hear from Cecil


I was here when the guy that sold the magazine to Bob was here. I apologize for not remembering his name. blush Not sure if I was here when Bob was just answering questions or replying? I do know my post numbers are higher than they actually say due to some kind of glitch where I had to re-register.
Posted By: Bob-O Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/25/13 11:27 PM
Dang Cecil, do you post a lot?
Posted By: Bing Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/26/13 12:30 AM
JKB: With reference to the Indiana meeting, A shame to admit, but I've never learned to post to this site. I spend a lot of time on many different sites and post pictures, etc. to several of them but this one just seems to be a PIA. I sent files with all of the pictures to a couple of people who were there with a discussion that they would go through the files and post some. I took over 100 pictures and tried to make sure I got a picture of each person there. Not naming names, but a couple of guys have the files and could load some pictures. Yup, I'm either lazy or stupid but haven't learned how to do it. With my current work schedule I'm not likely to get around to learning how to do it and posting for some time.
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/26/13 12:35 AM
That's OK, Bing. We know you only like to post pics of you and Connie with the "Stars!"
















(Bing & Connie hobknob it with some pretty famous performers).
Posted By: esshup Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/26/13 12:35 AM
Originally Posted By: JKB
Originally Posted By: Sunil
My fault, Bing & Bill Duggan!


Bing should have pic's from esshup's gig back in July! I know he was doing some clicking, but never saw any. What's up with that?


I got'em on a SD card.
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/26/13 01:13 AM
MacDonald or McDonald?
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 12:04 AM
Originally Posted By: Dudley Landry
MacDonald or McDonald?


One of those. Mark wasn't it?
Posted By: Bing Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 12:24 AM
Mark S. McDonald Sr.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 02:33 AM
Originally Posted By: Bing
Mark S. McDonald Sr.


Yes that's him.
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 11:51 AM
There are not many of those first guys around. I have met a number of them but was not one.

Dudley was one of them as were DD1 , Bing , Bob , CB1 , George , Bill C and Duggan , Mark was on there as well (adm).
Also JP Gresson (IT guy) , Russ , Greg G , Kelly , Doc Runkle ,Texas715 , John Monroe ( recent canoe/barn post) and maybe Todd. Any mod can do a search list by date and look up all the 02 members - that is a good start. Most aren't around much any more.
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 02:50 PM
When the new board started Bob went from posting almost daily to almost not posting. He was basically kicking the baby birds out of the nest. It took awhile for the new board to get going and the weekend Pond Bosses feeling comfortable answering questions.
Bob did warn us of his backing off and in the long run it was a wise decision.
Posted By: Kelly Duffie Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 04:18 PM
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
I do know my post numbers are higher than they actually say due to some kind of glitch where I had to re-register.
Cecil, I recall the glitch was a cyber-attack that forced the ditching of the old forum format and prompted a new forum design (which forced many of us to re-register, resetting our post-counts at zero).
I still remember (in the original format) my introduction to Bill Cody - with a rather heated debate about aquatic herbicides and algaecides. wink
I also remember the original Pond Boss issues (I still have a few, circa 1992) which consisted of photo-copy paper, printed in black & white, and hand-stapled in the upper left corner of the sheets.
Wow! PB has sure come a long way since then.

Posted By: george1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 04:22 PM
Bill, thanks for renewing memories of how all this PB stuff got started!
Eric, thanks for the dates and events for this old fuzzy forgetful brain.

The registration dates of several of us are in error because we got kicked off the forum, either by a computer glitch or misbehavior – I don’t remember... grin - then they made us re-register with 1’s behind our names… cry

I was very fortunate in becoming an early acquaintance with three of the very best fisheries biologists in the country, in alphabetical order Lusk, Overton and Waldrop.
Todd Overton and Bob Lusk by email and Bob Waldrop in person, being a fisheries biologist and fish farmer in N.E. Texas.

Lusk bailed me out from a rookie mistake of stocking adult LMB on top of Waldrop’s famous Florida genetics CNBG and FH minnows.

I found Todd still at A&M by email and he promised to find me sub-adult HSB stockers when he moved to his recently acquired fish farm in Buffalo Texas.
Being his first customer has produced lasting friendship and on-going consulting services.

Bob Waldrop was my first personal contact being a close N.E. texas neighbor.
I remember “vetting” Lusk by asking Waldrop about reputation – his answer of cource that I could trust him. cool

It took me a long time to sign up on the first forum - I was too embarrassed to admit my mistakes so I just lurked until I found out that I was not the only dummy on the forum.

Fun days – thanks for the memories.
George Glazener


Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 04:24 PM
I remember Dave re-registering, never knew why. I did not have a problem
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 06:04 PM
I had no problem with registering or my count being lower than it really is. Just happened to mention it.

And as far as being in the doghouse I've been there a times. whistle

I blame that on the 20 Mountain Dews a day. smirk

Don't buy it anymore and I've lost weight too by not drinking it!
Posted By: FISHarvester Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 06:51 PM
I'm curious as what you found to replace the DEW??
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/27/13 09:52 PM
The old forum data was lost (hack attack). None of those posts are in the current data base or post count. The re-start of 3 people ( George1 , CB1 and DD1) are after that on this forum. We had a software glitch that would not let them on/post. I was here when that happened and there was no fix so they reregistered and started over.
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 12:02 AM
I was only lurking in the shadows, reading but not registered until late in 2003. Sunil, Ric Swaim, Ilovefishingmark and many others had registered long before I did. Great stuff then as now.
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 12:08 AM
George, none of us are very smart. If we were among 1,000 of the survivors of some earthly disaster, we'd be back in the stone age. We couldn't even make a bar of soap.
Posted By: fishinglth Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 01:35 AM
I am probably the biggest lurker on the site. My info says I have been a member since 05/15/02. I attended what I think was the first Pond Boss Forum at DFW airport with Bob and Dave Davidson and I think Eric was there also, not sure who else was there but it would be interesting to know, I am sure Dave and Eric could remember. Who else was there? Great fun and a great site that I have learned a lot from. Thank You!
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 02:10 AM
Yes I will post a pic.

This is not everyone but the only pic I have.

Posted By: hang_loose Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 04:46 AM
Looks like you guys on the right side of the room had a little poker party grin.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:00 AM
The first PB get together at D/FW Airport.

James Holt on the far right. The guy on the far left is David, AKA Tentmaker Farms. The handsome devil in the dark blue shirt is a younger Otto. The guy to the right of me in the green shirt is a much chubbier EWEST.

I don't see Lusk; he must have taken the picture. I don't remember the other guys names.

Lusk hustled me into arranging this deal.

I remember Bob stating that the dreaded GSF is not a problem.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:06 AM
Originally Posted By: FISHarvester
I'm curious as what you found to replace the DEW??


Nothing other than one or two cups of coffee.

I think part of the problem with too much Mountain Dew was bad sleep habits staying up too late and trying to compensate during the day with the sugar and caffeine in the dew.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:07 AM
The first forum had some Cajuns that posted in cajunese.

Bob took a trip to Georgia to see Johnny Tanner and stopped by some forum members ponds on the way. There probably weren't over 25 of us. That started a rash of postings called "Lusk sighting".

Those were the days when I considered myself very knowledgeable about ponds and didn't have a clue.
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:36 AM
Dave was Atlanta the second Pond Boss meeting or were there some in between?
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 02:40 PM
Atlanta meeting about 6 mths after the DFW meeting.

PB Ga group pic




Ga meeting roundtable discussion




Greg and DD1 go fishing

Posted By: Bing Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 05:33 PM
I am not sure of the timing of the meetings, but there have been three regional meetings in Brownstown, IL. Two, along with electroshocking at my place, and one sponsored by Dave "Mongo" Sefton at the Brownstown fire station.
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 06:03 PM
The Atlanta meeting started out as some of the north Georgia posters wanting to get together and meet face to face, then took off. Next we know we have Bob, Otto, Eric and Dave wanting to join us. Greg was or is managing a lake north of Atlanta in a beautiful subdivision which let us use their clubhouse. The lady who Greg works with in the subdivision, who had no connection to Pond Boss was an Angel, she handled food and most arrangements. Best part for me was dinner the night before sitting between Eric and Dave.
Can't boil peanuts without thinking of that weekend.
Main thing I took away from meeting was Bobs statement about HBG turning into GSF, "you can't unbake a cake"
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:16 PM
Good stuff. Keep it coming.
Posted By: JKB Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:27 PM
"you can't unbake a cake"

That's priceless!!!
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/28/13 11:33 PM
My favorite is when Bob said he had such a wonderful job he was even jealous of himself.

grin
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 12:24 AM
Soon after the Atlanta meeting we had our first national meeting. Pond Con I at Arlington. Look in the archives for all of them here is the link to I.


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92619#Post92619
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 12:35 PM
Good BBQ and who could forget Sunil and Howard the Haitian Taxi driver.
Posted By: Dave Willis Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 02:14 PM
Even in hindsight, I have NO IDEA how Bob Lusk was able to pull off that first conference from a financial perspective. My suspicion [ I have no specific knowledge smile ] is that he paid a LOT of out-of-pocket expenses himself to make that happen. I know we all appreciate Bob for his knowledge and good humor, but I'll bet the entire story is a lot more complicated.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 08:02 PM
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Good BBQ and who could forget Sunil and Howard the Haitian Taxi driver.


I remember that.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 08:02 PM
Originally Posted By: Dave Willis
Even in hindsight, I have NO IDEA how Bob Lusk was able to pull off that first conference from a financial perspective. My suspicion [ I have no specific knowledge smile ] is that he paid a LOT of out-of-pocket expenses himself to make that happen. I know we all appreciate Bob for his knowledge and good humor, but I'll bet the entire story is a lot more complicated.


No doubt.
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 08:02 PM
I believe you are correct Dave. Those events are marketing tools not money makers.
Posted By: catmandoo Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 08:56 PM
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Good BBQ and who could forget Sunil and Howard the Haitian Taxi driver.


I remember that.


Great, Dave! Weren't you the guy leading us to the BBQ place that was 2 miles away, but 2 hours away?

Lynda and I were hunched down behind JHAP and his bride because of the bullet hole in the windshield of the van. The bullet hole was right in front of Sunil, who was on his cell phone with somebody -- probably you or Bob, trying to get directions translated to Howard!

I must say, that we've sure had a lot of fun and interesting experiences with the Pond Boss family.

By the way, where is JHAP?
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/29/13 11:34 PM
DD1 picked the place out and it was a home run. I was with him and it took us 20 mins max. Cat you guys were to busy downing beer and dodging imaginary bullets. Driver was busy listening to Bob Marley.
Posted By: catmandoo Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 12:13 AM
Originally Posted By: ewest
Driver was busy listening to Bob Marley.


I never thought of that.

Multi-lingual Sunil was trying to translate Dave's mono-lingual and verrry slow Texenglish drawl into some hyper-fast Caribbean dialect. I think it was the super slow drawl that took us so long to get the directions.

I guess Howard never heard or understood any of it.

P.S. If you've ever been in a phone conversation with Dave D., it is like -- "hey, are your still there??? Can you hear me now???" That boy's tongue is in slow motion! But, that is what I love about the Pond Boss family. It is such a wonderful group of very different people who can be friends even when we don't always agree about serious things affecting this world.
Posted By: djstauder Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 11:57 AM
So, all this history is making me wonder...

When is PondBossapalooza VI? Spring or Fall 2014?
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 12:11 PM
Lusk seems to have been a bit mum on PB-VI.
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 01:20 PM
Yes its time to get going on that. It takes a lot of work to put a PB Con together.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 06:09 PM
Originally Posted By: ewest
Yes its time to get going on that. It takes a lot of work to put a PB Con together.


You got that right. Our aquaculture associations puts a fall and spring conference together. Lots of planning, phone calls, emails, etc.
Posted By: catmandoo Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 07:16 PM
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
Originally Posted By: ewest
Yes its time to get going on that. It takes a lot of work to put a PB Con together.


You got that right. Our aquaculture associations puts a fall and spring conference together. Lots of planning, phone calls, emails, etc.


As a long time officer/director of my state's Aquaculture Association, I'm concerned about where we go too. We relied heavily on assistance from federal organizations, which translated down to state and local organizations.

I don't want this to go political, but the sequester has basically shut down our entire regional aquacultural research, enforcement, and training programs for water quality and fisheries management.

I had wanted to base our 2014 annual state-wide aquaculture program on water rights and water ownership. As of the board meeting we had about two weeks ago, we have had to abandon the entire program, and will just have an annual meeting and officer election co-incident with our state's annual Agriculture Conference.

The really scary part is that our aquaculture producers are competing against unregulated aquaculture imports from overseas farms that don't have anywhere near the health concerns and regulations we have.

At the low end of the totem pole, us pond owners don't have any real knowledge or tracking for pond species we are buying from suppliers.

I'm sure that from Cecil's view, and other producers like him, are viewing this quite differently from their sides of their ponds. They are still having to meet extremely strict regulations and inspections that prevent them from selling or buying, yet they are competing against other venues that don't have these same restrictions.

I well know what politics do to this site, face-to-face gatherings amongst us friends, and many other situations. Yet, I'm now wondering if it is time to start something like a fairly private blog/forum where we can discuss this without harming the good will and friendliness of the great Pond Boss forum. Kind of like a boxing ring where disagreeing grade school or high school kids can whack at each other with heavy boxing gloves and protective equipment, but not actually being able hurt each other. From what little I know of this practice, it seems to work. The come away with a better understanding of the other's views.

I'd rather that it not become a flame throwing site, but maybe that is what we need to come to a reasonable consensus to help move forward nationally, state-wide, and locally.

I believe that the Pond Boss regulars represent a very broad spectrum of views that range from the extremes of both sides, but most are somewhere in the middle. We can fight and holler, but we know that we are still going to be very close friends when the argument ends.

Anybody??
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 08:50 PM
I repectively diagree Ken. I believe that really isn't the purpose of this kind if forum. Could be wrong though.
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/30/13 09:49 PM
As the poster who has repeatedly pushed the envelope established by the forum rules regarding politics, I feel that I should be able to freely post my views to the exclusion of everyone else's unless they parallel my own.

I herewith nominate myself as the sole arbiter of acceptable political views and posts.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 12:05 AM
Originally Posted By: Dudley Landry
As the poster who has repeatedly pushed the envelope established by the forum rules regarding politics, I feel that I should be able to freely post my views to the exclusion of everyone else's unless they parallel my own.

I herewith nominate myself as the sole arbiter of acceptable political views and posts.


Ha Ha Dudley,

Isn't that like a serial killer nominating himself to be the judge, jury, and executioner of people accused of murder? grin
Posted By: catmandoo Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 12:09 AM
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
I repectively diagree Ken. I believe that really isn't the purpose of this kind if forum. Could be wrong though.


Cecil, many times my brain is half-fast. I think you and I agree about 90% of the time, and I consider you a good personal and PB friend.

I'm just not sure what part of my diatribe you are referring to.

So that we don't cause issues for others, send me a PM or e-mail with your thoughts and ideas.

Regards,
Ken
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 01:11 AM
Arresting officers, investigators and prosecutor too.

But how could you conclude that from my post?
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 01:54 AM
One thing is for sure. Our mutual connection as owners (mostly) of land & water, and our substantial interests in the dimension below the surface creates a massive amount of common interest.

Our notions of private property and other common factors, I believe, give our total average as center-right, or clearly right of center.
Posted By: Sunil Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 01:54 AM
Dudles, you've got my vote!
Posted By: Dudley Landry Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 02:10 AM
Brilliant move, Sunil. Your second has earned you a spot as co-chair.

I might have been better understood if I had posted something like, "We know you're wise in being against preying upon young women, Mr. Bundy, but..."
Posted By: rmedgar Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 02:33 AM
"Preying on young women!!! Have you seen my wife, Peg!!!???"
Al Bundy
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 03:10 AM
Ken you need to run that by Bob. I know I am not interested in the political BS. It makes for bad karma.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 04:13 AM
Originally Posted By: catmandoo
Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
I repectively diagree Ken. I believe that really isn't the purpose of this kind if forum. Could be wrong though.


Cecil, many times my brain is half-fast. I think you and I agree about 90% of the time, and I consider you a good personal and PB friend.

I'm just not sure what part of my diatribe you are referring to.

So that we don't cause issues for others, send me a PM or e-mail with your thoughts and ideas.

Regards,
Ken


Ken,

No need for a P.M.

My family on my mother's side is European. For some reason they can discuss politics over there without it becoming emotional and they seem to be quite tolerant of opposing political viewpoints. For some reason it just can't be done here and can end up verbally abusive.

I have perfectly sane friends that are good people, but if politics comes up they become raving lunatics. So we avoid politics at all costs.

Since the site is not about politics we should stay away from it as Eric says, although I'm not sure i would have used the term "political bs" to describe your honest attempt to discuss how politics and government effects pond owners.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 04:23 AM
Originally Posted By: rmedgar
"Preying on young women!!! Have you seen my wife, Peg!!!???"
Al Bundy


You do know Dudley was referring to the serial killer Ted Bundy right?
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 04:23 AM
Originally Posted By: Dudley Landry
Arresting officers, investigators and prosecutor too.

But how could you conclude that from my post?


My poor attempt at humor?
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 10:18 AM
Cecil you make several good points of why some things are banned here. An explanation may help others here understand why the rules are as they are.

Its a family atmosphere lake/land mgt. forum - not much family atmosphere or good mgt in politics.

Your family in Europe may well be able to rationally talk about politics but Europe as a whole does not (see riots in Greece , and others and extreme political violence by groups in many countries there). PB is a large open community with a wide variance on ideas and beliefs on non pond topics not a close nit family interacting face to face. We hope it becomes more family like and don't need wedge issues but rather binding ones. Wedge issues run people off

It is very hard in words to adequately or correctly convey certain emotion or feelings (see you comment "poor attempt at humor") and realize that words can easily be take wrongly or out of context. That can make for misunderstanding. I try very hard to avoid that in my writing but even cognoscente of that my writing above resulted in you misunderstanding my comment about "BS in Politics". The BS in in the way politicians often act not necessarily how "governance" (policy programs) work , although they certainly have issues as well.
Posted By: sprkplug Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 11:45 AM
I understand the forum's stance on the separation of ponds and politics up to this point, but can it continue on in this fashion? Twice this year, I have been in attendance and heard Bob Lusk speak about water rights, and what the future may hold for us all in this regard.

I readily admit that I am not as well versed in this area as I probably should be, but it seems to me that water rights, (where they pertain to pond owners), and politics are interwoven pretty tightly....can we, and should we separate the two, or are we resigned to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, unfed, because we were unwilling to break the eggs needed to make the omelette?

Please note that my intent with this post is not to try and foster a discussion about water rights, but merely an observation made on my part, for whatever it's worth.

Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 02:09 PM
This Forum is not a democracy it is owned by PB and Bob and Mike can say what they want and are not subject to the same rules as us. Note Bob talked about water rights but he did not come on the Forum and do so. Plus each of us is free to talk about anything we want in public or other Forums , just not here. Trust me we have had long discussions about this and there are very good reasons to avoid controversial subjects. Just one example is data indicate that when two people start arguing on a Forum other people don't like it and tune out then leave. This is especially true of viewers vs. long time posters. We are trying to grow this site with new people who start as viewers. This has been proven both by survey data (marketing) and personal experience (you should see the PMs when it starts here).

If one wants to argue about politics and public policy there are very many forums in which to do so - and you should join in there. I bet you will soon see just how angry and nasty it becomes. Go to any news source web site (CNBC , Bloomberg , Fox , CNN ) take your choice and find a political story and then read the viewer comments below it and get a glimpse of how it works (and note those sites are program monitored with posts deleted or not allowed (use the wrong word and the post is rejected or deleted)). If it weren't you would really be shocked by what people say when the disagree or get angry.When you see this from all sides you quickly understand why this country is so divided and angry and why Washington is the same way. Its a reflection of us no more no less. We don't need that here IMO. PB is a quiet , calm place of learning and sharing when the storms are raging elsewhere.
Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 02:35 PM
So any one else a poster on the old board
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 02:58 PM
Thanks Bill - back on track. I can find some if they don't post.
Posted By: rmedgar Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 03:32 PM
Yes, Cecil, I do...
Posted By: sprkplug Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 03:51 PM
Ewest, I'm no stranger to hotly debated topics on forums other than PondBoss....and I agree that emotions have an unfortunate tendency to cloud the issue, and make productive discussion virtually impossible.

And, I also believe it's far less problematic to talk about building ponds, and how many of what kind of fish to stock, and what to use to kill algae, and the benefits of aeration....all of that is important, helpful, and fundamental to being able to enjoy a pond...surely one of the goals of this forum.

And while I respect, and try to abide by the forum's rules, it is my sincere hope that the forum's decision to take the high road doesn't make us late to the water rights battlefield that I think lies ahead.

Sorry for another hijack...I started this post an hour and a half ago, but it's been a fairly busy morning in the shop.....no more interruptions from me! blush
Posted By: liquidsquid Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 05:49 PM
Just an idea,

Some forums have an R&P section that are allowed via request only. You must abide by the rules of no name-calling, personal insults, etc. If not, you get the boot from that section, not the entire forum.

It stays surprisingly civil if threats of getting the boot are understood.

See www.techreport.com forums for example. Their forums are moderated very much like these (and why I enjoy coming to both!) but their R&P forum is a great place to exchange ideas that normally fall into delete/locked categories. I don't go in there often since some folks on there are far smarter than I in politics and I just get wound up because I am dumb that way. I only go in R&P when it is a subject that I am interested in learning more about such as gun control. Amazing resource it is because like-minded people can bring a lot of far-reaching information to the table to digest.

The arguments for the most part stay low-key, sometimes not, but for the most part, nothing like the comments at the end of new articles.

Asbestos suit required!

It also makes a great location to move threads that sometimes fall into R&P land to let discussions continue, but in a room with wall padding and flame retardant.

And no, I was not around for the first forum. To be frank this site is hard to find unless you have a leaky pond, otherwise I would have been here long ago.
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 06:03 PM
Originally Posted By: ewest
Cecil you make several good points of why some things are banned here. An explanation may help others here understand why the rules are as they are.

Its a family atmosphere lake/land mgt. forum - not much family atmosphere or good mgt in politics.

Your family in Europe may well be able to rationally talk about politics but Europe as a whole does not (see riots in Greece , and others and extreme political violence by groups in many countries there). PB is a large open community with a wide variance on ideas and beliefs on non pond topics not a close nit family interacting face to face. We hope it becomes more family like and don't need wedge issues but rather binding ones. Wedge issues run people off

It is very hard in words to adequately or correctly convey certain emotion or feelings (see you comment "poor attempt at humor") and realize that words can easily be take wrongly or out of context. That can make for misunderstanding. I try very hard to avoid that in my writing but even cognoscente of that my writing above resulted in you misunderstanding my comment about "BS in Politics". The BS in in the way politicians often act not necessarily how "governance" (policy programs) work , although they certainly have issues as well.


Agreed Eric but there's a big difference between civially debating politics and rioting. And things can get out of hand in a country in a big hurry where the populous is told they will have to give up half of their pensions and almost half of the young people are unemployed. Comparing apples to oranges.

My relatives are German btw.
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 07:18 PM
Cecil I hear you. Had in mind ethnic riots in France , killings of the same in several countries , economic problems caused by politics , discriminatory laws and polices all over Europe , France 's soak the rich policies driving out productive citizens followed by threats against them when they leave as unwanted and more. Europe is very angry ! BTW I have German on 1/4 of my family ( Millers came to the US in 1820 +-) as farmers and merchants.

Sprk I understand and have been involved in the water wars. Look for much more to come and it is very hostile.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to move this thread back on course please !!!

Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 07:34 PM
Back on track. Any of you heard from



Frank Pinkston (Frank) who comes by once in a while and was at the Atlanta meeting. He is member No. 11.


Russ Shultis (Russ) who posts on occasion. He is member No. 12

FYI Bill Cody is # 24 and there is no No. 1. Bob is No 3


Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 07:37 PM
FYI from Atlanta

"We decided at the meeting to take a group photo and let everyone who did not attend guess at the names. I see that nobody has taken on that game yet. Any players out there?

Here is the original list:

Number Attending and Name

1 Bill Duggan
1 Bill Thorpe
1 Bob Lusk
1 Calder Pinkston
1 Cary Martin
1 Cary McDaniel
1 Dave Davidson
1 David Pendergrast
1 Debra G. King
1 Eric West
2 Frank Pinkston
1 Greg Grimes
1 Hal Lelle
1 Jack Green
2 JB and Racquel Allen
2 Johnny Tanner
1 Mike Otto
1 Paul Williams
1 Phyllis Lea
2 Randy Cooper
1 Randy Edgar
1 Ric Swaim
1 Robert Coleman
2 Ted Lea
1 Troy Pugh
2 Warren and Lynda Gilbert
2 Wayne and Eloise Edwards "


PB Ga group pic



Posted By: Bill Duggan Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 10/31/13 07:41 PM
Frank was one of the posters that put together the the Atlanta meeting. Lives outside of Macon Ga. Good guy
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 11/01/13 01:33 AM
Frank is a great guy and a wiz with RW programs and remote weather sensing equipment. He went way above the call of duty in helping me and others with the Atlanta meeting.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 11/01/13 10:38 AM
An interesting couple of recollections re the Atlanta meeting.

Due to family commitments(Wife) I wasn't going. Lusk called and said he had an extra ticket due to his Wife not being to make it. I said no but I mentioned it to my Wife who postponed her plans and told me to go. So Bob xferred the ticket to my name.

When we got to the Airport check in area Bob and Mike went through first with no problem. I showed my ID which is in my real name Samuel Zeno Davidson Jr. That doesn't match up with Dave and it appears that Dave Davidson is on the no fly/bad guy/ terrorist list. This was in the early days of the TSA. The check in guy spent about 5 minutes on the computer and then told me probably no big deal but that he would have to go upstairs to get more info. He was gone about 20 minutes and came back with an OK. However, during that whole time my smartass buddies, Bob and Mike, were enjoying my discomfort by making loud comments about dangerous, suspicious looking characters, Ayrab terrorists, etc. Gotta admit I was getting just a wee bit nervous and Bob and Mike didn't do much to make me feel good about this whole thing. I'd have given anything for a pocketful of rocks to nail them with.

We got to the meeting at a nice clubhouse, surrounded by expensive homes, next to a beautiful lake that Greg was managing. Mike and I agreed that we needed to be on our best behavior at a place like this. At the first break I headed to the mens room. When I came out Mike said, in a really loud voice, "Dave, did you wash your hands? You know what your Wife said.". All eyes turned to me and you could have heard a pin drop. Mikey has an evil sense of humor and once again there were no rocks anywhere.
Posted By: ewest Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 11/01/13 02:17 PM
I recall an extreme temp drop and you and Greg electrofishing. Also recall dinner the night before. A lot of good stories and peanuts by Bill.
Posted By: rmedgar Re: The first Pond Boss forum - 11/01/13 02:23 PM
I remember that I was late - that's why I wound up setting next to Bob. And yes, I lived in Atlanta, and was probably the closest to the event. It did turn real cold when Dave and Greg went electrofishing...
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