RUGGED DUDE BLOG 

 

Well, I said I wouldn't do this, but I got another bunch of requests for this lately, so here we go. I don't have a computer at home. I took the piece of crap out of my house last year, so I'll be doing this from the office. I travel alot, but I'll do my best to keep up to date with what's goin' on around here.

 

Yours Ruggedly,

 

RD

 

 

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Thursday, May 17, 2007, 7:30 pm.

 

Here goes, first entry. I'll try not to babble about non-sense... but no promises.

 

Spent the morning in a meeting with some members of some safety minded groups from the province of Ontario. They want me to be a spokeman for kid's safety, mainly for ATVs. We'll be putting something together for them next week. Looking forward to this, as we have a ton of kids watching the show these days. Stats say that little kids are getting hurt, big time, riding quads that are way too big for them and we're hoping to change that. Small kid - small ATV!

 

Spent the rest of the day working with Sarah, Erica and Candice, who are all working on editing  different shows. Man, talk about brain freeze! And, who says ya have to be a man to work in this business? Right now we have four production people... three women and one dude... we should call it the "broad squad!" (Oh, there I go, bein' all politically correct again.)

 

I'm getting ready to leave for my first fishing trip of this season. On Tuesday, I'll be going to Ignace Outposts, here in NW Ontario. I'll be flying in to Sesaganaga Lake with Brad Greaves, the owner. Also on the trip, Norm Kunkel from North Bay, Dennis Ukrainec (NOSA) from Thunder Bay. Two camera ops on this one, Adam and Erica.

 

The walleyes and northerns will be insane next week, so we expect some good footage. Lots of forest fires up there now, so there's a fire ban; no shore lunch. But, we'll cook those tastey little buggers back at the cabin. Of course, I'll be the camp cook, as always! No-one makes a better rugged style breakfast than me. Nope, sorry, not even you! One thing I hate, is when a dude slaps me on the bum when I'm cookin' their food!

 

From there, me and Adam will drive to Winnipeg, (about five hours from Ignace) then stay overnight on Friday, May 25. Up at 5 am, for a charter flight up to northern Manitoba to Edmund Lake Lodge. I just know we'll be nailing 45 to 50 inch northerns up there! I'll have my fly rod along for this one... and the walleyes will be nuts too. We'll fly back out on May 30, back home that night... late. Have to watch for those damn moose on the Trans-Canada Highway!

 

I ordered a bunch of wood to fix my house today. I'm putting huge log slabs on the whole house, so it'll look just like a log house! (Poor man's log home, at least for now...) So, I'll be busy working on this project next month. I have to strip off the bark and then put 'em up. I'll let them sit in the sun for a few weeks and then the bark should come off pretty easy. I have a chain saw (duh), so it should be pretty easy to make my cuts. Hopefuuly, I won't fall off the ladder when the chain saw is running!!!

 

Guess that enough for the first night on this. It's almost 8 pm, and I'm starving... but I do have a deer steak marinating in the fridge. Time to crank out the BBQ!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

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Monday, May 21, 4:20 pm

 

Well, not a whole lot has happened in the last few days. Our opening of walleye season was on Saturday and I went out for a bit that evening with Roger Mayer and his neighbor, Chris. "Rugged  Roger" is a local fishing guy and loves catching big walleyes! It was freezing cold and the bite was way off. Not even a jolt. Even though I am the ruggedest guy ever, the cold kinda screwed things up and it was an easy decision to pull the plug. So we sat in Rogers garage for a half hour to see who was the best BS'er with all of our old fishing stories. I think I won.

 

I spend Sunday (yesterday) cleaning up my house and the yard. I live out in the bush in the middle of nowehere, but I'll tell you, my place was starting to look like something out of "Deliverance." Redneck Central, even, so I figured I better clean the place up and took a couple loads to the dump. There's something totally rugged about going to the dump. Not sure why, but there is. All you dudes out there know what I mean, right? Since I live by myself, it's hard to keep up with the house and yard crap, especially when I'm away from home as much as I am. Even cutting 6 acres of grass takes me two hours... I think I need to find me a good woman who's rugged, cool, hot, knows how to set a rabbit snare, knows how to do an oil change on a riding lawn mower, knows how to run a chain saw and - doesn't mind her dude being away from home more than 200 days a year. Good luck...

 

After I got back from the dump, I set up a new archery range at my place. Last weekend I bought a new target bag at DNR Sporting Goods, here in Thunder Bay. So, I set that baby up, along with a 3D deer and 3D bear target. Now I need to buy a new set of sights and start practicing my ass off. I want to be able to easily shoot out to 45 yards. I think I'm doing a moose hunt this fall and I'll be using my Renegade SBD compound bow.

 

Most important thing yesterday was my dinner meal... wickedly, hella-supperbly, ultra-rugged venison steak (prime rib) with fried onions and a spinach salad with my world famous (well, at least in MY mind) lemon dill, honey dressing. Holy Smokes, what a meal!! Hey, wanna try my dressing???  Do it... 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon liquid honey, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon dry dillweed. Blend 'er up and get ready to drool. I'm not kidding...

 

Last week we picked the winner (random draw) of our annual "Little Rugglets" contest. This is open to anyone under 13. This year's winner is 9 year old Denika Hoegler from Lillooet, British Columbia. We received her prize today... a Renegade Archery Youth Bow! So I'll sign it for her and send 'er off, along with a hat, shirt and a Bloopers DVD. I spoke to her on the phone when we drew her name... she was pretty excited. So, the bow and other rugged stuff goes out tomorrow. We'll be expanding our kids section on our site and on the show, big time!

 

Today is a holiday up here in Canada, but I had to come in the office anyway. Tomorrow is the day we leave for our first media trip and I have to get a pile of crap done before I leave. Adam is coming in tomorrow around noon to get all the production gear ready. Last week we got two of the cameras serviced and the heads cleaned, so we should be good to go! Sarah will stay behind and keep editing shows from the past few months or so, then she'll be sending them out in a few weeks. The weather sure sucks right now... freezing cold and rainy, windy, snowing a bit too. NOT normal for this time of year, but it happens. So, I'm hoping by the time we get into camp on Wednesday morning, the weather will stabilize and that should put the walleye bite into a state of full level ruggedness!

 

I spent most of this morning packing all my rugged stuff... going over my gear, for the tenth time. Checking my list, for the tenth time. I need to pick up a few things tomorrow, but basically, I'm ready to ROCK!!!! So it's a few days in Ontario with Ignace Outposts, then onto Manitoba. I'm staying overnight in Winnipeg on Friday night, so if there's a compter there, I'll try to pop back in for a rugged update. The next morning, it's WAY up to northern Manitoba for a show... I've got the fly rod packed, along with all my other walleye and BIG pike gear. I'm hoping to show all you rugged freaks and maniacs out there what it's like to land a 50 inch northern pike on a fly rod!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

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Friday, June 1, 07, 6:30 pm.

 

So... back again. Got in late last night at 1:30 am and as a bonus... I didn't nail a moose going between Upsala and Shabqua last night while driving in the fog. COOL!

 

The Ignace Outposts trip was wicked rugged! Norm (Bubbs) and Dennis nailed about six million (okay, five million) walleyes each and I nailed about 100 million. The weather was weird up there, but that's the way it is this time of year. Freezing your ass off one day, 70 degrees the next. The cabin was great and our guide, John, was a really good guy. He took us to this spot on the second day and I'm not kidding... every second or third time you dropped your jig down in twenty feet of water, a walleye smashed it. None big, although, I did get a 25 incher on the last evening in the pouring rain. We had the camera in a water proof cover and in a case, but it was raining so hard, we didn't bother to tape it. At least that's my story at this point.

 

Once we got back to the base on Friday, I called the office to check for messages. Unrugged I know, but I had to do it. I got a great message from Sarah. We now have an agency to represent us and sell our show in the USA! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !! This is very good news! The company is in Florida and they are super-duper, heavy hitters and they are very excited about what we have to offer sponsors and advertisers. We've always done the majority of the selling in-house, but this will be the way to go. In this industry, you need proper representation to be taken seriously. Being up here in Canada makes it hard to access the big companies south of the 49th... so this is a very good break for 'ol RD!

 

On Friday, Bubbs and Dennis drove back to Thunder Bay while the rest of us went on to Winnipeg. EVERY time I drive in that city I end up getting totally screwed up and last Friday was no exception! I drove around for an hour looking for the hotel that Travel Manitoba had booked for us. Finally found it... at midnight. Then, we had to unload all our rugged stuff and get to sleep. 4:30 am wake up call... them there's duck huntin' hours!

 

Had a good flight to Edmund Lake Lodge and got into camp around noon. Took a Navaho Piper to God's Lake Narrows, then hooped into a Norseman on floats for the ride into the camp. The camp has new owners this year; Chuck and Esther Harmer from Thompson, Manitoba. NICE people, very rugged too! So I spent some time with them helping out with some ideas for their camp, etc. Of course, they couldn't keep me out of the kitchen either. I was showing them ideas for food they could serve, etc... ways to save time and money, but still serve wickedly rugged food to their guests!

 

The fishing was great, as usual in Manitoba. We did have some bad weather and one day it was so windy, we didn't go out at all. We lost alot of time to the weather. We're producing a promo video for the lodge as well as the show, so I'll be going back there soon to finish off with some more footage of the camps, etc. My guide was Scott, (last name... something "chuck?") Good guy and he really knows his stuff.

 

Spent most of today returning phone calls and emails. Sarah was finishing off a show, which I checked over. Looks good, just needs a little more work. I just found out our show time on MOR in the USA is moving to Saturday morning at 10 am, ET. This is a good slot and it should bring in even more viewers.

 

So, I better get my butt out of here... to the Super Store for some groceries. NOT meat, by the way. Buying meat in the store is waaaaaay unrugged! But, I do need a few things, so I'll slide by. This weekend, I'll be cutting my grass. Starting to look like a damn hay field! If the weather stays good, I'll start working on my house too. It's gonna look like a totally rugged log home when I'm finished with it! Maybe I'll pop a few shots into one of the shows when it's finished...

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Tuesday, June 4, 07, 6:30 pm.

 

Well, I never did get my grass (hay field) cut on the week end. It rained half the time and the other half I spent trying to fix my toilet! It wasn't filling up with water... not exactly a plumber, you know... but I fixed it. Why? Cause I'm RUGGED! Smashed my knuckles a couple times too.

 

I'm not sure why I'm doing this entry right now, as I have one of those headaches where it feels like someone nailed you in the back of the head with a baseball bat! I took about 6 Advil... I should probably just go home and relax for once.  Had a pretty good day around here, I guess. Got lots of crap done, business stuff that I (a) hate, and (b) don't understand. Some day, (I hope), this company will be big enough that I won't have to do anything accept be The Rugged Dude. That would be rugged...

 

I spoke to Gary Cooper in Victoria, BC today. He produces the show "Nice Fish." His company will be adding Closed Captioning to all our US shows starting next quarter. We don't have the gear here, or the know-how, so I'll let them do it. Gary's company has been around a long time and they have good gear and experience. Not a whole lot happened around here today that you'd be interested in... just a bunch of business crap that I won't bore you with.

 

Heading home now to have some dinner (venison tonight!!) and maybe watch the hockey game. Ottawa's in the finals against Anaheim. "GO SENS GO!" I am a Canadian, ya know!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Tuesday, June 5, 07, 6:45 pm

 

Yep, I'm still in the *%$#&%! office, going thru a bunch of paperwork that I really don't understand. I'm thinking about tossing all of it into the garbage can and then saying, "I don't know..."

 

Had a pretty good day today. First stop was West Gate High School. I met some kids from the music department who are gonna write some rugged tunage for the show. They do a great job and it's a cool thing to get these students involved with the show. We did this a couple years back and it worked well. Some of the music you hear on the show was written and played by some of those kids. They didn't have a drummer then, so I sat in and layed down a few drum tracks. They have "Pro Tools" on their computer and a good room to record in. Cooooooooooooooooooooooool! I still miss the 'ol bar and night club days. Maybe I'll go through mid-life crisis and start up another band. Hmmmmm...

 

After that, I went driving all over T Bay getting stuff done, including visiting with Adrian, manager at DNR Sporting Goods here in T Bay.  We just put together a killer ad campaign for them, where people who shop in their store could win a free a fly-in fishing trip in 2008. That would be rugged, no doubt. So watch for the campaign to start up soon, if you're from this area, I guess. If you're from California, Tennesse or some other place... I guess you'll miss it. But, there's always the contest on our site... put your name in!

 

I also met with the PR people at the Thunder Bay City Police force. We'll be doing a show with these rugged individuals soon, where we'll go on a trip with about ten or so of "the boys." But I want women cops too! I think women police officers are the ruggedest and coolest people out there. Next to me, of course. I think all people in law enforcement get worked over pretty hard, could get paid better and often times, don't get much thanks for putting their life on the line every day. So, this show will be a tribute to all those cats out there who wear a uniform, badge and firearm. (That's rugged...) Look for the show to air sometime next spring.

 

I've made a decision and I am sticking to it! I am going over to the gym (I think it's Club Nautilus) at the Travel Lodge, here in Thunder Bay and I AM joining! I'm getting REALLY out of shape. At 5'9", I weight 165 - 170 pounds. You might not think that's alot but it is for me. I'm getting a huge gut like that dude on Trailer Park Boys who never wears a shirt. I'm not as hairy as he is, but getting about as fat! I don't want to be one of these heart attack guys... I'm only 45, but some days I feel like I'm 145. I don't smoke, drink or use crystal meth (duh), so I still have a good chance of getting back into shape. 

 

When I'm finished with this blog crap, I'm going straight over there and whipping out my bank debit card. I'll keep you posted on my progess... I might even pay extra for a personal trainer. Someone who will kick my dumb ass if I slack off! Since I travel so much, I'll have to work out on the road. So, you might see me working out on the some of the shows that go to air next year! Maybe I'll be double ripped by then... or at least my pants might be.

 

You know what the women ALL say about me... I look "exactly like Brad Pitt, only slightly more muscular." So maybe soon, if I work at it, I'll look "way more muscular" than that guy. I hope Jennifer Aniston stops calling my damn house at 3 in the morning... it's kinda creepy. I keep tellin' her I live too far away from her. I think I've really let her down.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

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Thursday, June 7, 07, 3:45 pm

 

 

Yesterday, I drove down to Duluth, MN, which is about three hours from here. I went to Gander Mountain to buy a totally RUGGED Jon Boat! And, yes, even though I bought it with my own personal money, I'm gonna use it on a few shows. Several reasons why... one, some of the lakes I like to go to do NOT have anything that even resembles a boat launch (rugged) and two, the boat I bought is a simple 14 footer, for about $800. I have a 9.9 Johnson for the back of it. One thing that I try to maintain on the show is a sense of reality. A 14 foot aluminum is the kind of boat that your typical weekend fisherman who watches my show would have. How many people do you know own a $45,000 tournament boat? I know a few but none pay for them. 

 

I'm gonna put a hella-rugged camo piant job on 'er and it's gonna be SO rugged! I can use it for fishing shows that we tape locally and for hunting shows. Wouldn't that boat look awesomely rugged with a moose rack sticking out of the bow? Or, a pile of duck decoys in a bag... ?? OOOh ya!

 

I also bought a bunch more rugged stuff at Gander Mnt. I put about $2700 on my credit card! DOH! But it's hard to walk through a place like that and NOT fill up the cart... It was raining like crazy and SO foggy all the way back from Duluth. My average speed was about 30 mph, so I got home about 1:30 am... but I got home and that's the point. There's a cool rock station in MN called KQDS 95 (I think) and they rocked all way back to the border. I am the best air drummer in the world, even in fog with a boat on top of the truck... they played some Rush and I went nuts. Luckily, didn't drive off the road. Lots of deer, though, but I didn't drill any.

 

This morning, with Tim Horton's coffee in hand, I had another meeting with the safety people about me being a spokesman for safety concerning mainly kids. The meeting went well and we had Doug from Hippo Media on a speaker phone call that lasted about an hour and a half. We'll have the campaign set up soon and you'll see TONS of Rugged Dude and kids safety stuff going on. Another Ontario kid was killed a few days ago. 11 year old girl on a large size four wheeler. It rolled over and killed her. This HAS to stop! Hopefully, I can help.

 

Still haven't got my grass cut. It's been raining since forever... it's about 13 feet high now. Okay, maybe 12... but I need to cut it bad! My house is starting to look like no-one lives there.

 

I got great news today about a moose hunt for this fall!!!  I spoke to Fern at Kashabowie Outposts near Atikokan, Ontario. We taped a fishing show there beofre and these guys run a great operation. We talked for an hour about a fall archery moose hunt and we're booked for September 15. I am prepared to stay for as long as it takes to get a bull. Knowing thse guys, I'll be done in a few days, but I'm ready for ruggedness. These guys are the best in the business when it comes to archery moose hunts. One of the things I bought last night was a new set of sights for my bow. I'm going to call Ken Kemp (my unoffical bow and rifle tech) and get my new Renegade SBD set up. I'm going to shoot my ass off this summer and get ready for a killer rugged hunt! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's gonna be a great show when it goes to air, so watch for it.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

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Monday, June 11, 07. 1:50 pm.

 

 

Wow, what a mental weekend! Finally got the darn grass cut, but I had to hire this young kid (Peter Shepstone) from about 3 miles down the road to help me. Unrugged! But - I'm leaving for another trip tomorrow and it was getting a bit HIGH! Like - knee deep...

 

This next part is so stupid... all of you know how rugged I am, but even I have to do laundry, at least every once in a while. I don't use a dryer in my house, since I have two woodstoves. In the winter, I hang all my stuff (especially my rugged stuff) in the same room as one of the stoves. In the summer, I hang the crap outside. Well, last summer, my clothes line tree got blown over in a storm, so I decided to put a 4 x 4 pressure treated wooden pole up in the field by my house. I had two bags of cement ready to go. Sounded easy enough...

 

I went to A - Z Rent- All on Friday afternoon and rented a two-man post hole auger. I told the dude we would be drilling into clay and said it's no problem, just clear the auger every foot or so. Well, within one minute we had the auger stuckin the friggin' ground, like you wouldn't believe! Me and young Peter from down the road are digging away with our hands, trying to yank out the auger with my rugg-mobile, etc... we finally broke the thing and it is still about two feet below the ground level in my back field! Plenty of potty-mouth that day... at least I wasn't standing at a trade show booth.

 

So, I call the dude at the rental place... "Hey, there's something wrong with this auger I rented. It doesn't work right." He asked why... "Because it's stuck in the ground!" Anyway, bottom line... I paid $70 to rent the machine and another $170 to buy the guy a new auger. $240 to make one hole in the ground and I never did get that hole drilled. I'll be calling "Backhoe Al" to come down next week and put the hole in the ground for me, plus, dig out the broken auger. My legs and my back are shot. Feels like an elephant kicked me right in the ass. Nice.

 

So the rest of the day, I spent working around the house and then I brought the auger back to A - Z rent-All. The guy was totally cool about it and I think he cut me some slack on the replacement cost of the auger... I went from there over to the a car wash put on by MADD. Anyone who drives drunk REALLY pisses me off!!!!! A bunch of good kids there too. Some of them were Rugged fans, so it was fun clowning around with those little farts. I told them to do a quick oil change and top up all of the fluides, as well. They had a puzzled look on their faces for some reason...

 

 

This next part is double dog stupid. Last entry I mentioned that I went to Duluth to buy a new Jon Boat. On Friday, I brought my old 9.9 Johnson in to Smith's RV for a tune up, check over and recoil repair. They did a great job, and they had it back to me that same day! Anyway, yesterday evening, I wanted to try out the new rugged Jon Boat and test out the motor. I live really close to Cloud Lake, so I went down there to put the boat in the water... this next part proves that if there was a company called "Dumb ASS of America" I could be President, easily. I put the boat in, paddles, fly rod (rugged), gas tank, etc... then, as I was carrying the motor, I'm in the boat, stepping over the last seat. I trip over something, a paddle I think, take a wicked wipe-out, smash my noggin on the side of the boat and drop the motor in the lake! More potty mouth... it was only in a foot of water and I yanked it out right away, but of course it wouldn't start! Yep, Smith's had my motor again this morning... more $$ on the 'ol credit card! Dumb ass.

 

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for about a week. Red Lake, Ontario, then back to Manitoba for killer rugged pike on a fly rod!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Thursday, June 21, 07, 7:40 pm

 

 

Hey again. Got back last night about midnight. The trip was pretty crappy due to some very unrugged weather! Is it just me or is it always super windy these days? And rain? This season sucks so far. The fishing was slow because of the weather I think, but it was good 'nuff to get the job done and peel off a couple more shows.

 

The first place, Viking Outposts, is based in Red Lake, Ontario. We stayed at their American Plan lodge on Viking Island, which is on Douglas Lake. NICE place! All log buildings, handcrafted by the original owner, Arthur Carlson. The place has been in business for 60 years! Same owners too. Arthur passed on about 11 years ago, but Mrs. Carlson (Florence) still rocks at age 92! And she is in better shape phyisically and mentally than most 45 year olds, including me. What a cool lady she is and talk about history and stories! WOW! We did an interview with her and we'll be popping it into the show. When you see this piece, you will NOT believe she is 92, trust me.

 

I taped the show with Hugh Carlson, Arthur's son who is now 60 and also with Gwen, Hugh's daughter who is 24. Both are great people to "work " with and Gwen and I really had a few laughs when were taping. She was really natural on camera, very funny and relaxed. Adam, the camera dude said we should make her a permanent co-host of the show!

 

We caught mostly walleyes and pike and on one day we hiked into a smaller lake with Al Scahn and his wife Anne. There, Anne nailed her first lake trout. A juicy one of about 6 pounds! Yep, it's goin' in the show... Gwen caught the biggest waleye of the trip. On the last evening, we were out on a spot they call "the narrows" and she nailed a 24 incher with, you guessed it... a jig and a minnow. This combo is likely responsible for catching over half of all the walleyes in Canada! "So, what are you guys using?" Ummm ... jig 'n a minnow.

 

We flew out of the lodge on Saturday morning about 7:15 am. Got back to base camp at 7:30 or so... short flight. Drove down to the Trans-Canada Highway and then headed west to Winnipeg. Contruction everywhere! I was worried that we'd miss our flight up to God's Lake Narrows, so Adam called Perimeter Air from his cell phone and told them we were on the way. We made it. Barely. Two minutes before gate cut off!! Whew... anyway, we got on the plane and landed in God's Lake about an hour later. Adam was snoring on the plane. So was the dumb ass behind me... he was drooling too and at one point he let a huge fart, but somehow it didn't wake him up! Unbelievable. I had to breathe into my sleeve.

 

Once at God's Lake Narrow's, Chuck from Edmond Lake Lodge was waiting for us in his Norseman float plane. Gear loaded up, it was just me and Adam, so I sat up front.... ya know, just in case Chuck needed any expert advise on how to fly a plane. Hmmmm.

 

When we pulled up to the dock at the lodge, the guides were waiting for us. Scott, Jamie, Waylan and Keith. Scott would be my guide, so we got all our rugged crap organized just before dinner. Awesome food at Edmund Lake Lodge too. Turkey that night... and potatoes... corn, stuffing, gravy, veggies. The whole deal.

 

The next two days had lowsy weather but we caught the fish we needed to finish a wicked show. At the end of the second day, we had a terrible situation in front of us. There was an older guy, age 77, in camp. He was having alot of problems earlier in the day according to his guide and at dinner he started choking on a piece of his steak. It was not good. Some of guys tried different types of first aid and eventually he collapsed hitting the floor. Chuck was trying CPR at this point and next thing you know we had him on a stretcher. Adam and I carried him out to the Gator which had a big trailer and laid him across it. I was trying to keep him going the best I could, but there was no pulse. We got him into the float plane and he was flown into God's Lake Narrows. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

 

The next day, the weather was so bad we didn't even bother to go out. Huge winds again, pounding rain. We hung around the camp, shooting the **** with all the other dudes. The following morning, we took off for God's Lake again, hopped aboard a NAC Air flight and headed back to Winnipeg, where the "Rugg-mobile" was waiting for us in the parking lot. 8 hours later we were back home in Thunder Bay. Yes, sometimes it sure is good to be back home. Now I have two feet of grass to cut again! DOH!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Thursday, June 27, 07, 7:20 pm, I think. (I am so tired!)

 

Well, it's after hours again - everyone has gone home for the day and I'm sitting here all by myself like a loser, typing on this stupid computer thing... earlier today, this flat screen monitor nearly ended up through my second floor office window and onto the  parking lot. It took me an hour and half and four phone calls to change my email password. And, I'm not even kidding. Bill Gates - watch out...

 

Okay, some wicked news today!!!! We have secured the professional services of a well respected Sales and Marketing Agency to handle ALL of our sales, ultra-rugged functions, events, my personal appearances, etc. They are in Florida and these guys are seriously heavy hitters with the experience and knock down power to really get us those big name advertisers are supporters for the show. We have spoken to them five or six times on the phone now and just today they sent us a great proposal.

 

In this business, if you want to be taken even "sort of" seriously, you need proper representation. We have hired in-house sales staff before and it was nearly impossible for them to get through to the big boys who call the shots (and write the friggin' checks!). This is the break I've been waiting five years for and I am SO looking forward to the next few years! Someone to sell our show in the USA - RUGGED!

 

Earlier, I told you that I dropped my outboard motor in the lake... I brought it back in for "additional" service but I still haven't had a chance to go and pick it up! That's how mental my life has been lately... but, I did manage to cut the grass, pay my personal bills at the bank (I don't know how to do it on the computer and I'm not interested in learning), AND - I finally got my new roof put on my house! One slight problem... half way through, we had the shingles completely off and one side reshingled and then - with little time to prepare, it started to rain like a son - of - a - gun! (Holding back here...) And, it POURED! I was running around the inside of my house with buckets, pails, plastic tubs, whatever I could find... the rain was coming in like you wouldn't believe. So, now in the one spare room where I keep my rugged, kick-ass drums, the ceiling is all wrecked, the dry-wall's all soggy and falling in! So, now, I have to put a new ceiling in that room! Oh well, I hate dryall anyway... kinda unrugged.

 

I had a good, long chat with my partners in Texas last night. Tom and Ramona Peters are coming up tomorrow evening and I'll be bringing them up to Armstrong with me on Sunday. Back to one of my all-time favourite fishing outposts, Ogoki Frontier. This will be the fourth time there and on this trip, we're going into Whiteclay Lake. The walleyes should be jumping in the boat again as they usually are at any of the Ogoki camps. Tom (The Legend) and Rugged Ramonaare bringin' the whole gang from Texas! Kids, grand kids, wives, husbands, nieces... everyone! And, of course, I always volunteer to be the camp cook, BUT - I made it VERY clear to all of them that no-one is allowed to sneak up behind me and slap me on the bum... if they do I just might have to break their egg yoke. Adam will come along again on this trip. He's still young, just out of college, but holy smokes, is he ever a wicked cameraman!

 

Last night, I woke up about 3 am or so and I had to take a leek and get a drink of water... all I can tell you is next time, I AM turning on the light! Either that, or I'm getting custom made helmets for each of my toes! They'll be in full camo, of course... wouldn't want them to feel weird, or... ya know... unrugged. Not sure what I smashed my toes on, but it was something very hard. Table leg maybe... tackle box likely. And don't try to tell me you've never smashed your toes in the middle of the night, cause I KNOW you have. I live in the middle of nowhere and I often just step outside for a squirt. Ummm, lots of mosquitoes last night... came close to getting a couple bites on "him," but I fought 'em off, somehow, without pissing all over myself. There's quite a skill there, ya know... I think tonight, I'll just go to the bathroom, because sooner or later... man that would suck.

 

I was over at DNR Sporting Goods here in Thunder Bay again today. Showed Adrian the final cut of the new ad... he had one word to say when he saw it: RUGGED! So watch for the ad campaign to start July 11 in town here. If you're from Alabama or Maine or something... I guess you'll miss out on this one. Sarah was editing her butt off all day again.... I am SO lucky to have her. It looks like we'll have to rerun again for three more shows... just can't seem to get caught up. But we DO have a bunch of new shows that'll be out later this summer and into the fall. Sorry.

 

By the way... I'm only started into the traveling / taping season and I'm already just about shot. I am so tired these days. I'm only 45, but when I wake up in the morning I feel like I'm about 6,584. So if there's anyone out there that wouldn't mind stepping in for a couple trips while I get some rest... it's easy. All you have to do is wear plaid shirts, camo suspenders and jeans, catch the odd fish, act like you know what you're doing, use the word "rugged" and sometimes, but not as often, "unrugged," make a goof out of yourself and cook the odd shore lunch. It's super easy.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Monday, July 9, 07, 4:00 pm

 

Sorry it has taken so long for a new entry, but I've been on the road and just got back on Saturday. I was up at Armstrong, Ontario again with Ogoki Frontier. This is the fourth trip there and again, the fishing was wicked rugged!

 

We stayed at Whiteclay Lake outpost, north camp. There are two on the lake and they're both severely rugged log cabins that are so nice I wanted to dismantle them and take them home with me. I had my partners from Texas on this trip. Tom "The Legend" and Rugged Ramona Peters were on the job, helping me pound down some walleyes. They brought a bunch from their family too, so I had my work cut out for me cleaning fish and COOKING fish!!

 

We had a really good trip, but I have to say the mosquitoes were insane! If I don't have West Nile Virus by now, I won't ever get it... the weather was not too bad, but it rained pretty much every day. The first day, we were down the lake about ten miles and a quick storm came up. You know, the lightning version??? One of the motors wouldn't start due to a starter gear that needed a little WD - 40... so we towed it back to the other cabin on the lake and waited out the lightning bolts! There was a bunch of VERY rugged dudes there from Wisconsin and they were really cool. Had some good smoked wild turkey and Wisconsin cheese for us to munch on too.

 

One of the weirdest things ever happened to me one morning. I was down on the dock washing up and as I was splashing my hands in the water, about a 16 inch northern pike came up and nearly ripped my damn hand off! I guess he figured I'd taste pretty good... but man, what a bunch of cuts! One of them probably should have been stitched, but you ALL know how rugged I am... but, if I did stitch it up, I would have used fishing line and a rusty nail. And, you know I would have... Hey, I'm sure glad I wasn't kneeling down takin' a pee...

 

I spent the whole day yesterday at my house cleaning up all the old shingles from my roof, cleaning out the eve troughs, etc. And, guess what? I only fell off the ladder once this time! All right!! Usually it's twice per day... but yesterday I was awesome on the ladder! Later in the day, I had to take down a couple of spruce trees that got damaged in the wind a while back. Sometimes I wonder why I don't get killed more often... so here's me, the dumb ass, 30 feet up a tree on a ladder, not strapped to the tree, with NO safety harness, no helmet and a chainsaw. Anyway, I got them down with no injuries and I didn't even get killed either.

 

I see the rugged forum on our site is getting busier than ever. Lots of new people joining... I think our new time slot on MOR on Saturday mornings will be a good move. Since we started there on June 30, we're getting 45% more viewer emails than before. I have a ton of them to respond to, but hopefully I'll get throught them this week. Had a bunch of emails from the soldiers over in Iraq again. I wish I could go over there and shake every single one of their hands. Those people are RUGGED!

 

I have to go to Home Depot on the way home tonight. I need to fix a couple of lights in my basement. I'm not good with electrical stuff, so next blog entry I'll tell you how I zapped myself with about 110 volts to the skull! Hey, maybe it'll make me thmarter? Anyway, I have a bunch of repairs I'm doing to my house, so I'll be at the store alot over the summer. I want to sell the place in a year or two and build an over the top, super duper, double dog, balls to the wall, ultra rugged log home. And, I WILL do it.

 

I'm leaving for the Northwest Territories on Friday, so I'll have to get packed up for that rugged trip! I think it's my 12th time going up there and every time, the fishing and hunting is amazing. This time we'll be at Yellow Dog Lodge and fishing for lake trout and Arctic grayling on the fly rod. Should be a killer trip. I want to bring a downrigger, but it's a hassle to transport. Air Canada pisses me off almost every time I fly with them, so we'll see how it goes on this trip. "Your bag is 1 ounce over the sixty pound limit sir. That'll be an extra $30,456.00 please." Kiss my a$$ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Friday, July 13, 07, 10:50 am

 

Okay, today's the big day... hittin' the T Bay airport at about 1 pm, then we fly to Calgary, then Edmonton, finally landing in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. We'll fly into Yellow Dog Lodge in the morning, around 8 am, with Air Tindi. I've flown in their float planes many times and they are a great company. I think we'll be going in a Beaver... just the two us, but lots of rugged gear!

 

Late last night, I packed my 8 weight St Croix fly rod too. Might as well try to nail a few lake trout on the fly...  not just the Arctic grayling with my 4 weight. I have two big tote bins, the camera gear, all my rugged clothes and crap, so I just know Air Canada is gonna nail me... hey, maybe I'll get lucky and the woman at the counter will be "Officially Rugged" and "Officially" feel sorry for me and let it slide. Then, again... time to haul out the 'ol credit card!

 

Every time I have to leave town for a bit to tape a show, it's always nuts for a couple days prior. SO MUCH going on around here... as most of you know, I'm NOT a super duper accountant type business dude. I HATE all that crap, but at least for now, I'm it. Karen, our bookkeeper was just here and we went through a bunch of envelopes that I "forgot" to open last month. So, anyway, I just wrote a **** load of cheques... (Canadian sleeping for checks, eh!!)

 

Sarah will stay behind and keep editing the new shows we just taped. Should be some killer stuff coming out this fall. She's also working on a few new station promos that are WAY late! Plus, a couple lodge promo videos: one, for Edmund Lake Lodge and one for Ogoki Frontier. Adam will be on the trip with me again and he's never been to the NW Territories, so he's pretty juiced up right about now.

 

Once AGAIN... I'm leaving for a five day trip and my grass is about a foot high! Hey, anyone wanna come over and cut my grass? I'll pay ya $5.00 - that's not bad, but it IS in CND Funds. But, it's almost the same right now, so whatever. Okay, I'll throw in a few prime rib deer steaks. Now THAT's a deal. Okay, have to run... gotta go to the bank, pay my power bill, phone bill and property taxes. (Late again this year with that one...) Then, I have to wait for Adam to come over to the office around noon, pack up all the camera stuff, then we'll be like a baby and head out.

 

Smell ya later... I'll tell you about the six million fish I'm gonna catch when I get back. Hey, wait a second... I think they have high speed internet at this lodge... as pathetically UNrugged as that is, I just be able to do a blog thing when I'm up there. I'll look into it. Maybe I'll be tellin' ya how I fell "into" the boat, broke all my $500 rods... fractured an elbow, cracked an onion, the rolled over in pain and ended up in the lake... meanwhile, with Adam rolling the whole time. Ya... okay.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Monday, July 16, 07, 10:00 pm, from the Northwest Territories.

 

Holy ****, I just realized it's my brother's birthday today... better call him when I get back on Wednesday. Oooops...

 

Anyway, the trip is going well. Yes, I am at Yellow Dog Lodge, NWT. This will be a super short entry, as I'm on a lap top and I don't know how to use this damn thing, plus, I'm tired as hell! Catching lots of lake trout, but not the big one yet. Some Arctic grayling today on my fly rod. I went in the hot tub today (on camera) wearing my camo shorts, suspenders, camo hat and rubber boots. RUGGED!

 

Can't wait to get home... yes, I admit it. I'm getting burnt out already. Too much travel. It seems every time I turn around someone wants me for something or wants me to be somewhere. I need some non-RD time, but it'll come soon enough. Until then, ROCK on all you rugged freaks and maniacs... we fly out of here day after tomorrow... home VERY late on Wednesady night, midnight.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Thursday, July 19, 10:00 am

 

Well, it was a GOOD trip! And, believe it or not, Air Canada didn't lose any of our rugged stuff and didn't leave us sitting in an airport for 8 hours sleeping on one of those benches. We never did catch any big trout as I hoped we would, but we got into some big numbers. Down riggers worked well for me, so did jigging with soft plastics. What I did, was basically troll around slow with the down rigger and watch the sonar screen. When I saw a good hump or hole where there were a bunch of fish, I'd chuck out a marker bouy, crank in the rigger, then whip out my jigging rod. Then, I'd basically kick the holy crap out of 'em!

 

We arrived back in Thunder Bay at about 11:20 pm... Adam helped me get all our stuff to my truck and he split with his girlfriend... hmmmmm... I wonder what they had on their minds? Anyway, I got home about midnight, then crashed on the couch until I woke up about 5 am. staggered into bed and crashed. Woke up about noon the next day. Nice.

 

Over the last few days, I had a really good week end... had a few friends over (Hey, I do SO have a few friends!!) cleaned all my guns and bows, getting ready for the fall. I'll be putting a new bow together next week. Renegade SBD. I'll be slicin' through a moose's lungs in September with it. Remember - a warm gut pile.... RUGGED!

 

So here I am... about to leave AGAIN! Tomorow, I take off back to Arrmstrong, Ontario and back to Mattice Lake Outposts. This trip is the one where the annual media trip contest winner comes along on the free trip and appears in the show. Bryan Rusco from Minnesota will be headin' up here tomorrow afternoon. Me and Sarah will be meeting him and his rugged dad at the Tim Horton's coffee shop on Arthur St, around 5:30. Then, we sizzle up to the base camp, crash over night and fly in to Pringle Lake the morning after.

 

We'll catch a pile of walleyes up there, some northerns too. I'm bringing my rugg-normous frying pan along, so I can make the boys my killer and SO famous shore lunch! This pan is big enough to fry a small deer... whole. I'll be flying back out Sunday morning, then I'm actually home for a bit. Two weeks I think... but I'm am taking three days to myself. Going to have some "off time." Guess what I'm doing... going on a fly-in fishing trip. RUGGED!

 

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Tuesday, July 31, 3:30 pm

 

Man, it's hot in this office today... it's about 95 degrees outside today and even with the air conditioner going full blast, it's still hot. Hot enough, that when I did a sniff check a few minutes ago... the results were not good. Holy **** did my pits ever stink! Had to haul out the 'ol "emergency pit stop" from the top drawer of my desk. But, I guess if you stink, that could simply be because you're doin' lots of rugged stuff, right? Or, maybe I just stink.

 

Wicked trip! Yes, just got back from Mattice Lake Outposts, Pringle Lake camp. Was with Bryan (BJ) Rusco and his father, also Bryan. Got back on Sunday... dropped Sarah off at her place, drove back home to "camp rugged" hauled all my crap into the house, then fell asleep! This traveling sure wipes a dude out, even when you're the ruggedest guy ever! After I woke up later on, I went out behind the house to pick some raspberries, (I have tons) and of course I'm in my bare feet 'cause I'm a dumb ass... anyway, I was reaching over to pick some berries and I stepped RIGHT ON a snake! Luckily for me, we don't have rattlers up here in Ontario where I live... but the little prick did bite me and I jumped about ten feet! He's lucky I didn't have the lawn mower out... chomp. Then, we'd have lawn pizza.

 

Okay, so back to the trip... first day in camp, we didn't even bother to pull the camera gear out. I wanted BJ and his dad to have a good vacation too, and not just be there to tape a show. So, NO cameras the first day! Instead, we all went out, me and Sarah in one boat and BJ and Bryan in the other. Walleyes were easy to catch but it was kind of a weird lake, in that, 80% of it was super shallow. Most of the lake basin was about 5 feet deep, or even less. Most of the fish we caught came from three spots, one right in front of the cabin. BJ caught one about 23 inches, but most were a good average of 19 to 20 inches. Jigs, jigs, jigs... you know the drill.

 

The next day, we were all set to start taping but it rained like crazy most of the day... oh, well, I guess I'll go and sleep! Something  wish I could do more of these days... haul my dumb ass into bed and crash! So I did. Then got up and made a wicked dinner for the boys... BBQ rib eye steaks, fried potatoes, steamed veggies (unrugged, but good) and canned corn. Awesome meal, if I don't say so myself... and NO, no-one snuck up behind me a slapped my ass either!

 

For the rest of the trip, we hammered the walleyes. BJ and his dad caught 150 in total. I didn't fish that much, but still nailed about 30 - 40 or so. Over-all had a great time, and BJ and his dad are not just rugged, but cool people too. It'll be a fun show... wait till you see the opening with me and BJ standing on the dock discussing the whole "on TV for your first time" deal. Crazy...

 

Checked the mail this morning... 12 bills. Maybe I'll just throw them out. "Sorry, didn't see any bills." Aw, I guess everyone has to pay their bills, even us... had a GOOD conference call with our new agency in Florida today. About an hour and half. Pretty wicked stuff and this year will be a good 'n, as they say in Texas.

 

Leaving again tomorrow for another trip. This time, smallmouth bass over near Atikokan, which is a fly-in base for Kashabowie Outposts. Should be a killer trip! I'll catch up with you next week.  Maybe I'll be telling you about me stepping on a black bear...

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Wednesday, August 8, 2007, 12:00 noon

 

Don't ya think it's pretty sad when you're sitting at your desk on a hot day and you notice that your own pits stink... really bad? I'm not necessarily talking about myself, I'm just simply asking a question... ya know, just throwin' it out there.

 

Okay, so I had a good trip to Kashabowie Outposts and now I'm back in action. Now I have to play business man for a few weeks again. I really don't like that part of this whole thing, mainly because I don't really know what's going on. Pretty sad, eh? I "think" the check book is "over there" somewhere and I'm not exactly sure if I opened the mail from last month yet... Some day, hopefully, not too far into the future, I'll be able to relax and just be RD. You know that "VERY rugged goof ball" who catches the odd fish on our show?? That quote, by the way, was lifted from one of our viewer emails from last month. Nice.

 

I woke up this morning to some rustling and baggin' around in my yard. Seems a black bear of about 200 pounds wanted to take a round out of my BBQ. So, imagine this... me running around in my yard, in my camo boxer shorts, half asleep, throwing pieces of firewood at a bear and calling him a stupid a$$hole, while the bear just stands there with a really, really stupid look on his face. "What did I do, what did I do?" So, now when I get home tonight, I have to try to put my BBQ back together. Again. Friggin' bears!

 

Here is absolute proof that I have been traveling waaaaay to much lately. Remember back in June, I brought my ultra rugged fully camoed, 9.9 HP Johnson over to Smith's RV in Thunder Bay for repairs? Then, I dropped it in the lake the very next day? Then, I brought it back again, for "repairs?" Well, the service department called the office yesterday to see when I might be able to come over and pick it up. Yep, better get the hell over there. I'll be using it soon on a brook trout shoot... wait till you check out my soooooooooooo rugged Jon Boat. Hand painted, ruggedified and ready to ripp!

 

Believe it or not, I'm actually not going on any more trips this month. I need a break, plus... lots of business crap to take care of. Anyone wanna help me? So, I'll be sitting here, typing away with emails, emails, emails, then phone call after phone call. I can't wait until September 15 when I go out on a moose archery hunt. That will blow the rugged scale out of the water and in fact, if I nail a big bull with my Renegade bow, it'll likely be the most rugged thing I've ever done! Can't wait... I'll be practicing my shooting EVERY night until the big hunt!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

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Wednesday, December 5, 07, 10:30 am

 

Well, I guess it's been a while since I put something on here... had been so busy I just didn't have the time. Or, I guess, I could have been a little lazy too, but anyway, here we go. More rugged blog action coming up!

 

 

ALOT has happened since the summer. First, as many of you probably know, we lost our distribution of 40 million households down in the US. The Turner Media Group was the parent company for The Men's Outdoors and Recreation Channel (AKA, MOR) that was carrying our show to many of your homes. In August, the company went bankrupt and we lost all those viewers! %&*#&*%^$ !! ... So did about 100 other shows that were also being broadcast on MOR. Dish Network, DirecTV and nation-wide cable, all gone for a sh**!

 

I can't tell you how much of a screw up this is for our company. When I first started working on this show back in 2000, it was tough. I mean, I literally starved for the first few years and now, overnight, I have to basically start all over again. And, I WILL ! If you read my bio on this website, you'll see my life has been up and down like a friggin' toilet seat, but I always bounce back - and then some. Crap like this just makes me more rugged than ever! Plus, I get really pissed off and that gets me cranked or as ya'll say in Texas, "jacked!"

 

At this time, our agency in Florida and my partners in Texas are looking for a new home to broadcast our show. I'll keep you posted on the progress. And, BTW, thanks for all the email support after my last newsletter went out!

 

Back in the fall, we taped a gose hunting show, locally. Tom Whalley (from Thunder Bay) and I went out with Sarah on camera and shot some birds. Not a bang up deal, but shot some geese and Sarah did a wicked job taping her first ever goose hunt. I was a little worried that she might not get the footage on her first go... but she did GREAT! Hopefully, we'll get that show edited and on the air sometime soon.

 

Back in late October, more bad news... a bad "break" maybe... I was working on my house, putting up some logs, and boards, then staining them, etc. Well, I was waaaaaaaaaaay up on a ladder (all by myself, because I'm not just rugged, I'm also a dumb ass!) and then without warning, down I went. Like an extra large bag of dead cats. I just lay there in a daze. I wasn't knocked out, but I knew I was messed up. Fearing that I had broken my back or had some other spine or neck injury, I just stayed put, hoping a car would drive by and see me on the ground.

 

The problem is I live way out in the bush and cars rarely drive by my house. (That's one of the reasons why I live where I do!) But, two cars actually did go by in about ten minutes or so, but unfortunately, no-one saw me. At this point I knew I needed to get to the phone. It was getting dark and I was starting to shake like a leaf. I don't have neighbors right next door either, so yelling was not going to heard by anyone accept maybe a few squirrles. ... so I started the long crawl around the back of the house, up the stairs, through the back porch, up another set of stairs to the kitchen and then FINALLY to the **** ing phone! It took me about a half hour to make that 100 foot journey. I kept on falling over, etc... staggering around on my hands and knees. I had a hard time breathing.

 

Before long, the police had one of my neighbors from down the road over and then the Neebing Volunteer First Response Team (Rugged!) arrived. And, they were total pros! BTW, the morphine they gave me was very "groovy." Almost like I was "going to Woodstock, man!" Shortly after, a chopper landed in the field beside my house and I was taken away to the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital. Turned out I broke my left hip, collar bone and two ribs. Dr. Droll operated on my hip about 2 am that night (or morning, Mr. Technical Pants!).

 

I spent a few weeks in the hospital (food was disgusting... Thanks to Karen for bringing me prime rib from The Prospector!!) and then rehab. I've been home now for a few weeks, but I still can't walk or even put any weight on my left leg for another month, at least. I have crutches and a wheelchair to get around in.

 

I want to thank all of you for the get well soon cards, letters, gifts, emails, phone calls and visits while I was in the hospital. I couldn't believe the support from all you rugged freakazoids and maniacs out there! I was getting things fro as far away as California and Texas! There was one little girl, about 6, that came in to see me and brought me a hand made get well soon card. She told me, "Don't worry, RD. I know you're so rugged that you'll be out of here soon!" So friggin' cute... he dad looked at me and laughed a bit.

 

More bad luck... just as all this was happening, I lost both of my production staff members. Sarah was offered a great job at Shaw Cable and Adam is moving to Calgary to work with his cousin who works on Hollywood films, etc. Both Sarah and Adam did some great work for me and I'm glad to see them both get these jobs, but the bottom line - I have NO production staff right now!!

 

So, because of all this mayhem over the last few months, I have had to pull the show off the air in the remaining markets we were in. That includes in my home town, Thunder Bay, Ontario. This winter will be spent getting my health back and later, finding new staff... hopefully! By the spring or early summer, I'd like to see the show back on the air, including down in the states... I want those 40 million households back again!

 

In the mean time, we have tons of snow here, for the first time in a few years. Lots of people will be out sizzling around on the sleds... ice fishing, skiing... and I'll be sitting here at home like a loser waiting for my damn leg to heal! But, if you think about it, I got pretty lucky. I could have ended up in a wheelchair all my life or been killed. I got a funny email from a fan in Oklahoma... she said that if I was wearing my "Rugged Dude Camo Cape" like I should have been, I could have simply flown off the ladder and avoided getting mangled... nice!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now...

 

RD

 

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Thursday, December 6, 07, 8:10 pm

 

More snow!!!!! We've had enough already to last us the year.  But, I doubt the snowmobile guys would agree to that. I have to say, though, my new "log home" looks pretty rugged in the winter scenery!

 

Well, I got my lazy bum dumb ass out of bed this monring about 9 am (I am supposed to be resting, so I have an excuse for getting out of bed whenever the hell I feel like it). Staggered to the kitchen, grabbed my old aluminum coffee pot, loaded 'er up and put 'er on the woodstove. I don't care what anyone says, those old "cowboy coffee" makers make the best coffee! Yes, even better than Tim Hortons!

 

Once I finally got my act together, I went into town to do some running around and to bring some tapes in for Adam. (The doctor said I can drive now, so that's cool!) He is finishing off a promo video for Yellow Dog Lodge in the NWT. This is the last project for Adam, since he'll be heading to Calgary very shortly.

 

One thing I find interesting... an observation, maybe. People really seem to be courteous and helpful when you're walking around in crutches. Many people asked me if I needed help opening doors, or putting money in the parking meter (snow banks!), and one woman actually "walked me" from my vehicle to the door to my office! I could easily done this on my own, since I AM the ruggedest guy ever... even in crutches. But, she insisted...

 

After being in the hospital for a while, then being cooped up at home, I started getting food cravings. I lost a bunch of weight over the last few months, so I figured... french fries! YA! Down below our office there is a small diner called "Corky's" and their fries rock, big time! So, I sat there, like a pig with my head jammed in a plate of fries.. ketchup, malt vinegar and tons of salt! What the hell? Every now and then won't hurt me...  I'll just eat an extra apple or something tonight.

 

I got another email about a new channel starting up in the states. It's called the "Pursuit Channel" and it's all hunting and fishing. So, we requested more info on household numbers, Dish, DirectTV? Whatever... maybe cable ?? This might be a good channel to get us back on the air in the US.

 

I decided to attend (with our ultra rugged booth) this year's "Central Canada Outdoors Show" in my home town of Thunder Bay. I am not doing any traveling this winter, as I normally do, since I'm still not able to walk. But, by then, (late Feb) I should be okay for short periods of time. I know I couldn't handle going through airports, etc, big time travel but doing this local show should be easy. They want to me to do something up on the seminar stage too. They're talking about a cook-off challenge between myself, Mick Bohonis and Gord Ellis. I WILL kick both of their asses right off the stage! (At least, I think I will, yikes!) It will be a totally rugged riot, either way!

 

Going to have some rib eye deer steaks for dinner tonight ... time to hit the 'ol BBQ! Got the veggies already cut up, ready for the steamer... fresh bread that I got in town today. Crisis? What crisis?

 

Yours Ruggedly, (for now)

 

RD

 

 

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December 12, 07, 11:30 am

 

 

So I'm sitting here, freezing my ass off... I just put three huge pieces of dry birch in the woodstove, so it'll won't be long until I'm peeling off this big, ultra-rugged Mossy Oak sweatshirt! This is one that the boys gave me at the SHOT Show last year in Orlando, Florida.

 

Well, the last few days have been good ones. Making progress with my hip, etc... I'm hoping the doc will let me walk soon. I'm having a tough sleeping though... since my broken hip and broken collar bone are on opposite sides, I have to sleep on my back and I hate that! It's not very comfortable, especially if you have to fart! (My poor mattress!) Now, I completely understand (at least I think I do) why pregnant women become "somewhat agitated" during the latter months. Sleeping on your back sucks!

 

Anyway, now on to some actually important things. I just got off the phone with the program director at the new channel I was talking about earlier called, "The Pursuit Channel." They launch of Dish Network in February and they are interested in our show. He is supposed to call me back later today to talk about a "deal." So, we'll see... he did say they have really good interest from the industry and they do have plenty of timeslots left.

 

Okay, you know you're bored when you clean your entire house from a wheelchair! This is pretty sad... but it needed to be done. And, it's amazing how you figure out ways of doing things from a wheelchair. My heart goes out to all those peole who have lost legs, or become paralyzed... and are in a chair permanently. Those people are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more rugged than I'll ever be.

 

I'm looking out the windown right now and I see lots of snow. Three snow machines just went sizzling across my back field. I hope they see the fence back there... I don't bother to post my land... and I really don't mind if people go on it, as long as they're doin' rugged stuff! And, sledding is one of the activities that fit the rugged criteria!

 

I am bummed out because for the first time in years, I missed the opening weeks of ice fishing !!!!! But, since I AM as rugged as I go around telling people I am, I just happen to have a few walleye fillets in my freezer. So, for dinner tonight - "that's what I'm talkin' about!" Shore lunch... only in my kitchen! I remember back to the summer when I was traveling and taping shows... how many shore lunches we do! Holy crap! LOTS! And, they always rock the ruggedtivity scale to levels beyond comprehension.

 

Okay, gotta get back to the phone now... and I also have to go get a refill. My old aluminum coffee pot is on the woodstove, calling me... "Hey, dumb ass who fell off a ladder, over here!"

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now, RD

 

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December 18, 07, 1:45 pm

 

 

Okay, so Christmas is coming up fast! It's a little harder for me this year, getting out shopping and all. I have a very small family and we don't go too nuts at Christmas anyway, but I did go out to Intercity Mall in Thunder Bay last night.

 

I'll tell you... if you've never been in a wheelchair at a busy mall before, it IS something you could never understand! Holy &%*&^# there are some rude friggin' people out there! I don't know how many times people would walk right in front of me, let doors slam into me, or cut in front of me in line. One dumbass even spilled his coffee on me. Not everyone was like that, of course, as some people were super cool and helped me alot. The lady at Hallmark Cards was super nice and I'll have to go back and thank her for it... again. But, I was really surpised at how many ignorant pecker heads there were last night. Merry **** ing Christmas...

 

So, I did manage to bomb around the mall and pick up a few things. I also ran into some of the guys from the Thunder Bay Fire Fighter's Association who were doing their annual fund raising and charity work. Mick Bohonis (Outdoors writer from Thunder Bay) ran into me and we were laughing our asses off thinking, we should had some video of him wheeling me down the isle at the mall last night! Could have been a funny bit for a show... especially if we took a rugged wipe out!

 

Actually something even better... before I got into the mall, I parked near Zellers and I thought maybe I could use one of their electric wheelchairs to help me get around. My hip isn't really that sore any more, but my collar bone is, so the crutches aren't really a good idea for much more than getting around the house. So anyway, the lady gives me the buggy, and I sizzle away thinking how cool I was... until - well, I guess I took a corner a "little tight" and then... well, when the guys finally got all of the 15 or so five gallon gas cans all picked up and everyone was finished looking over and laughing at me, I figured I better take the next corner a little slower. At least it wasn't a HUGE display of GLASS dill pickle jars rather than PLASTIC gas cans that I got a little too close to...

 

Okay, so back to the show. We're still talking to The Pursuit Channel from South Carolina about starting up in February. They're launching on Dish Network across the US, so that'll give us about 13 million homes to start. We MUST get back to the 40 million or so had before, but we have to start somewhere. I'll know more after the new year.

 

We're still getting a fair amount of emails from the US, so if any of you are watching us down there, even on some small regional channel, please let us know! Someone mentioned something about the "Out TV" channel in Texas?? Never heard of it, but if you have... let us know.

 

Don't you hate when you think you're SO hungry, but maybe you're not? Well, I just ate 3 scramled eggs and enough moose sausage to feed half the friggin' Canadian Army! Now I don't feel so good. Maybe the 4 pieces of toast didn't help either. But, I have lost 20 pounds since my "ladder incident" so I guess I can pound 'er down every now and then. Hot sauce on scrambled eggs - RUGGED!

 

Today, I am sitting here, kinda bored outta my skull. At least it's warm here today, at about 25 degrees or so. Some of you who read this must be thinking how COLD that must be... but up here in Canada, in December, I'll take the 25 degrees any time! My rugged buddy Ken Kemp is coming over for a visit this evening, so I'll have to con him into bringing some firewood in for me. I did a bunch on Sunday on my own, but I think my collar bone is kind of pissed off at me for it. I still cannot put any weight on my left leg (hip) so I'd stand at the wood pile which is just outside my front door, then chuck 5 or 6 pieces of wood into a Rubbermaid tote bin which was just inside the door. Then, I'd go pile 'em up using just my left arm, since my broken collar bone is on the right side. It wasn't that hard, really, especially since I'm so RUGGED!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

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Saturday, December 29, 07, 10:15 am

 

 

I hope everyone had a good Christmas break! I sure did anyway. And, I got some serious rest! I think that's actually the coolest thing about Christmas... everything shuts down so we HAVE to take a friggin' break!

 

Unforunately, there are still some assholes out there who insist they can drive their vehicle after pounding down a bunch of booze. In Calgary, some jerk in a CEMENT TRUCK, drunk on his ass, rolled over a vehicle and killed a whole family. Then, I heard on CNN, some goof ball in Delaware crossed the center line, killing three high school kids. Until our governments make the penalties for DWI FAR more severe, there will be many more deaths. I'd like to see these drunk idiots put in jail for life. Maybe while they're in prison, they can be Bubba's girlfriend down in cell block C. Ouch...

 

Anyway, back to what's going on around here. I went to the hospital yeterday for my check up with the surgeon and I was hoping for some good news. Well, I got some good news... sort of. He said my hip is heeling well, but he doesn't want to take any chances with it, so he wants me to stay off it for at least another month! So, on February 1, I have another check up and I am HOPING that by then, I'l finally be able to walk again. That'll be 14 weeks since my wipe out that I've been in this ****ing wheelchair! I hate to complain, but it's becoming a pain in the butt!

 

Still no concrete news on new distibution in the US. I guess over Christmas not alot gets done, but hopefully after the new year, we'll get something happening and get back on the air down the good 'ol US of A. I have to make this a short entry, as I have tons of crap to do today. Plus, I have to do some laundry... how UNRUGGED is that? Maybe, I'll just walk around in smelling 'ol stuff and if people ask, I'll just tell them is my new winter fragrance. "Rugged Dude a la Midnight."

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD 

 

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Friday, January 4, 2008, 11:15 pm 

 

 

Hey, first entry for 2008! Actually, who gives a sh**, but anyway, sounds kinda cool... and hopefully all of you got through the New Year's celebrations in one piece and still retaining your driver's licence. I didn't do much, just stayed put at a friend's place in town. Safer that way...

 

A couple days ago I sent out our January newsletter to all the rugged dudes and dudettes in our fan club. We have over 20,000 people signed up for it now... and again, I got a pile of really nice (ooops, I mean 'rugged') emails back. Alot of people telling me to "hang in there" and get healthy. Then, there are the ones who are so pissed off that our show is not on the air on US satellite right now, that they want to take over the airwaves with guns drawn! That's what you call loyal fans... once again, I don't do this job for the big bucks!

 

Okay, on to more important things. I was talking to the Vice-President of the new "Maximum Adventure Network" (MAN TV) again today and I think we're getting close to a deal with them. They'll be up on satellite and cable in the USA as well as in Great Britain. 26 million households in all. So now we just have to see if can lock down a few sponsors to help pay for all this! We'll know soon.

 

My hip is still healing well, but as I said earlier, I have to stay off of it until at least February 1 when I go back for another check up with the surgeon. I have to be at the Central Canada Outdoors Show, here in Thunder Bay, the last weekend of February, so I HOPE I can walk by then. The organizers of the show want me to do a cook off challenge deal with Gord Ellis and Mick Bohonis, so I said, "Bring it on!" I am going to kick their asses off the stage! Wheelchair, crutches... whatever!

 

The other night I was getting out of my vehicle in my driveway and I took a wipe out.... slipped on the snow and ice. It was a slow fall and I was able to plan it a bit land softly without screwing up my hip again. (Whew!) That's all I need right now... another 16 weeks in a friggin' wheelchair. No thanks. Believe me, I've hear all the "stay off ladders you dumb ass" comments to last me the rest of my life.

 

I saw a gorgeous (yes, I use that word sometimes, even though it doesn't sound very rugged) red fox in my yard this morning. Looked he was eating well too, the fat little bastard! Likely chowing down on rabbits and a few grouse. There were alot of them this year, so the fox will take full advantage of that! Hey, speaking of grouse... I have a couple in my freezer that I shot back in September. I better get over there and take 'em out for tomorrow night's dinner. Yes, sounds like a plan.

 

I was watching this Criss Angel Mindfreak dude again this evening. That guy is simply amazing. I don't know how he does some of the crap he does, but he somehow pulls it off. And, with all kinds of people standing around him and not on a secure and close off stage. The guy is so good he actually gives me the willies! But, still the best show on TV ever... has to be... The Munsters! (Kidding.)

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD

 

 

Friday, January 25, 2008, 3:00 pm

 

 

Well, it's been a few weeks since I last updated this crazy blog thing. I've been pretty busy trying to get the show back on the air down in the US and finally... I got the good news today! Starting in March, we'll be back on Dish Network, channel 230 with the brand new "Pursuit Channel."

 

Three killer time slots: 

Saturday, 12 am ET, 11 pm CT, 10 pm MT and 9 pm PT.

Sunday, 8 am ET, 7 am CT, 6 am MT and 5 am PT.

Wednesday, 2 pm ET, 1 pm CT, 12 pm MT and 11 am PT.

 

Exact start up is non known yet, but will likely be mid-March. Other than working on this new distribution, I haven't really done a whole lot of anything else. I listed my house for sale... a BIG move might be in my future. I'll give you more when I know more myself...

 

February 1 I go for another check up with the surgeon and HOPEFULLY he'll let me start walking again. As far as I know, the hip is healing just fine, but it WILL feel weird walking on it again. Hope I don't fall on my dumb ass again... and, NO, I'm NOT going to miss this wheelchair!

 

We haven't had any more snow around here, but holy sh**, it's been cold! But, today, it's pretty nice at about -5 celcius. That's about 23 F (I think)... I REALLY miss my annual ice fishing trips. Normally, by now, I would have been out about a dozen times or so, catching mostly walleyes and perch. Luckily, I still have some walleyes in the freezer from Pringle Lake, where I taped a show last summer with Mattice Lake Outposts, in Ontario.

 

Hey, I have an idea for supper tonight... anyone wanna come over???  If I'm short on walleyes, I can haul some deer steaks out to go along with it. Ya know... just in case.

 

Yours Ruggedly for now... RD

 

 

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 1:00 pm

 

 

Okay, before I get going here, I better explain why my last entry was in late January. Believe it or not, THREE TIMES I went to enter something and as I was near the end of my one finger (with tons of swearing) typing, some weird comptuter thing happened and I lost everything! Now, that pisses me off... one of these days, this computer is going right through my office window here at home. Another time, I was sitting here in my Mossy Oak boxers (IN MY HOUSE) and I spilled a fresh cup of hot coffee on my "area" and scalded my onions. So, that put an end to that particular one finger typing sesion.

 

Anyway, some updates... first about MY LEGS! I Since last Friday, I have been walking without crutches! Way cool, especially since it had been 19 weeks since I had last walked. My legs are starting to come back a bit now and I started massage therapy last month -  now on to physio therapy. Hey, maybe I should get some friggin' brain therapy so I'll learn to stay off high ladders, especially when they've been put on a small little table to get that needed extra few feet of height. Ya.

 

The shows are back on the air with FANZ TV, which broadcasts to cabel subscribers in about twenty states. The Pursuit Channel starts up with DirecTV, channel 611, on March 26. Some bad news... they were also supposed to be on Dish Network, but the deal somehow fell through. I think it basically shit the bed for now... but the guys at Pursuit are working hard to get it togethere and get us on Dish. Sorry to all the Dish cats out there. I wish I could do something, but unless someone wants to loan me about 11.5 million... I'll play the waiting game like everyone else.

 

It doesn't look like we'll be on the new MAN Network, at least for now. They offered to air our show, but honestly, I just don't have enough staff and shows right now for the two networks. But, soon... we should be able to roll with these guys as well as Pursuit. I had dinner last year with Peter Piper, the VP of MAN, while at the SHOT Show in Orlando. (Of course, I got nailed with the bill, as usual... HA!) He is a really good guy and a wicked bow hunter too, which helps! I really want to have our show on their network not just because they are on DirecTV, but they're also on the air in Great Britain. I'm curious as to how the Brits will see our show. I think they'll "dig it" because they're a pretty rugged bunch over there... rugby with no pads? RUGGED!

 

The weather is finally starting to warm up around here. I was really getting sick of this -30 crap, I'll tell you. Today, it's about +30 out there and not windy at all. BUT - that doesn't make my ice fishing dreams not coming true this year. No way for me... have to wait till next year to crank out the auger. Actually, if all goes as planned, I'll be in Texas next year at this time. Won't need the power auger down there. Just lots of hot sauce for burritos... which I am totally looking forward to. Tofu burger in Toronto - unrugged. Hot burrito in Texas - RUGGED!

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD 

 

 

 

Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 11:00 am

 

 

Yes, I know... I'm not supposed to go a whole month without writing some kinda crap on here. I've already had a bunch of emails giving me hell for it. I'm feeling kinda mouthy right now, because I just finished watching an old All In The Family rerun... Archie Bunker for President! I think he'd be better than any of three nuts that are in the running right now anyway. Politicians never lie... Uh... "Sniper fire?" Okay, there, Hill...

 

Okay, so spring is FINALLY here with day time highs of around 50 - 60 degree all this week. The snow is really starting to melt at my place. I'm gonna (rugged for 'going to') go out to my archery range in the yard later today to see how my shoulder feels. After the broken collar bone deal, it might be kinda weird. I did ventilate a squirrel with my 20 gauge the other day, so I should good to go.

 

The Pursuit Channel, no doubt, has had it's challenges getting on the air. The launch date has been put back a few times now, but they are (again) set to go tomorrow, April 16. They were supposed to start up April 9, but there was a golf tournament or something, so DirecTV put it off. This came by an email FROM DirecTV, so I believe it. Fingers and onions are crossed for tomorrow.

 

Only a few days left for this year's free fly-in fishing trip contest. On April 20, we close it off and the lucky winner will be announced on our website forum on April 30. This year we're going to back to visit Mattice Lake Outposts and we fly in to Geurin Lake Camp, September 6 - 10, 08. Gonna be RUGGED!

 

Finally, I am going to begin taping a pilot for a new cooking show that we'll be pitching to The Food Network and many others. It'll be similar in style to the show I have now, only it'll be cooking, manly, rugged and robust... mostly outdoors on an open fire. Lots of fresh fish and game. I'm pretty excited about this, since if we do end up on The Food Network, we'll go from a couple hundred thousand viewers a week to 5 or 6 million and - in many different countries. Then, I'll no longer have to worry about stuff like, um, like - well, ya know... money. Taping will happen the first week of June, right here at my house. We'll watch for the weather...

 

Still no offers on my house, so moving to Texas is still on hold. I think that in a few weeks when things really warm up, there'll be some action around here. I hope to sell soon and get the hell outta here and head south. Again, I really like living here in Ontario (Thunder Bay area) but, in the entertainment biz... I really need to be down in the good 'ol US of A.

 

Okay, gotta go now... I have about 10 million phone calls to make... as usual.

 

Yours Ruggedly, for now... RD