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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails
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49 minutes ago, The Royal We said:
I've heard so many different names for this tool from various cowboys and workers - a big Awl, an Asp, Breaker-bar, pry bar, etc. I've never heard it referred to as a San Angelo bar before, but I'm going to keep calling it an Awl.
Team #SanAngelobar here on the nomenclature. I keep one at the house and one at the ranch. Just replaced the one at the house. Bent it trying to leverage up a big boulder. The point was worn to a nub, so it was time.
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5 hours ago, Fastbreak said:
Gotcha. That was well before my time. Riverside is where I started to play golf during college (98-01). Been the same since them from what I can recall. Never had a chance to see it pre-ACC.
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3 hours ago, Fastbreak said:
I played Riverside yesterday. Average to below average shape. Some greens had sand and black stuff.
I'm not a big fan of the layout. It use to be a great flowing course, now it has some weirdness (not in a good way).Haven't played there in probably 6-8 years. What has changed?
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On 5/22/2025 at 9:33 AM, cab948 said:
Currently building a new home out in the country and looking to plan for next spring. Sitting on top of a hill with no trees currently planted so I have a blank slate. Will be running off well water and do not to be constantly having to water all summer. I was looking at the Habiturf blend developed by the LBJ Wildflower center which is a blend of Buffalograss, Blue Grama, and Curly Mesquite. Looks to be everything I am looking for. Native, not requiring much watering, can go dormant in drought and will come back with rain, does not require much manicuring, but I cannot really find any real life reviews of it. Has anyone had any experience with this stuff?
What are the existing conditions like? I'm three years into a similar situation. I had about 3 acres of open pasture with good soil with established native grasses. I also took out about 2 acres of THICK Cedars and that's been a process. This is the first year where that area is starting to take shape. Lots of manual work getting thistle, horseweed, croton, and sticker burrs out. Where native grasses were present, they're finally filling in those areas where Cedar was removed. In other areas that were absolutely barren, I had lots of luck with Austin Hydroseed. I think I spent about $5K and did a few different blends including their "Damaged Earth Mix". The first year I thought it was going to fail, but it's really taking shape now. They have both native grass mixes and wildflower mixes. Great customer service and I thought the pricing was fair.
https://austinhydroseeding.com/
It seems like the wildflowers weren't the best this spring, but my front pasture is thick after recent rains. There's some verbena, antelope horn and Indian paintbrushes, and I'm getting a ton of Mexican hat popping up in recent weeks as well. It's so awesome to sip coffee on the front porch and watch rabbits and deer. We had two fawns that were bedded down in that pasture this spring as well. Definitely seeing mother nature do her thing.
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57 minutes ago, Tailgate said:
Anyone have a good store/location for bulk mulch? I have a few areas that need quite a bit. South Austin. Appreciate any thoughts.
Whittlesey Landscape Supply is your best bet. They deliver or you can pick it up if you have a truck and/or trailer. South Austin location is near the airport on Dalton.
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CSB.. Did a week long San Fran trip with my wife in September 2004. Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Lombard, Coit Tower, a day trip to Napa, a day trip to Carmel, and of course a Giants game. I went online to search the Giants' schedule when we booked the flights and hotel. The last night we were there was the only home game after a long road trip. Bonds was chasing 700 HRs that year. I remember saying to my wife "Bonds is just enough of an asshole to wait to hit that home run at home. Let's see what we can do to get some tickets down the right field line and maybe catch a piece of history." Sure enough, there's tickets available in the RF arcade on StubHub. First row. BUT, they said "obstructed view" on StubHub. What?!?! How is that possible in freaking right field?!?! StubHub had just rolled out the "view from the seat" clickable link where you could see the vantage point before buying. I clicked on it... no issues. I guessed it was some sort of glitch, so I bought the tickets.
Fast forward to September, and sure enough, he's sitting on 699 after that road trip. The area around the stadium is abuzz as we're walking up. I had a scalper looking to buy tickets offer me $500/ea for those right field seats. Nope. Got in early, enjoyed some garlic fries and a a cold beer, and walked to our seats. We quickly figured out why it said "obstructed view". RF foul pole is in the middle of the seat. Not next to it. Not in front of it. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEAT. As in, one of us was straddling the pole for 3+ hours. My wife is a trooper. She sat with the right field foul pole in her lap for 9 innings because I thought I may have a chance at catching history. This guy did a post as part of a series on terrible seats about how truly dreadful that seat is. Of course, Bonds goes hits #700 but goes oppo. So, at least I can say I've been at one of just four games where a 700th HR was hit.
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Love this thread!!! I haven't been to a ton, but the top 5 I've been to are:
1) Wrigley
2) Oracle
3) Camden
4) Coors
5) Target
And honorable mention to Enron / Minute Maid / Daikin as an Astros homer.
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2 hours ago, drewlaws said:
Have any Austin folks done a build-out/leveling to a sloping native backyard? Mine is dirt and rocks backing to a greenbelt. I want a level area big enough for the kids to play and a putting green would be nice perk. Do I start with a landscape architect to get plans and a budget estimate? Any recommendations for such a person?
I've done several of these types of projects with my former business over the years. It can revolutionize the space, but costs can balloon pretty quickly depending on access, how much material you need to bring in and infrastructure / hardscape needs. I have a few landscape architects I can recommend, depending on budget. Feel free to shoot me a DM with details, and I can provide some contact info.
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On 5/21/2025 at 6:59 PM, thunderlounge said:
Now tell it again with a ~2ft copperhead in the kitchen corner, scorpion on the kitchen ceiling, and 3 cats raising hell.
That was not a good morning.
Seventeen years ago, the morning that my wife was to be induced with our first child, she got up to get some water around 3 AM. I heard her walking back into the bedroom, and she calmly said "there's a snake in our kitchen". I was still half asleep, so I didn't take her seriously. She said, "A real, live snake is in our kitchen. Under the floor mat in front of the sink." Sure enough, about a 2' half-dead ribbon snake was shoved up under the crinkled floor mat, but still alive enough to be agitated. Evidently, our cat found it outside, decided it would make a fantastic gift, brought it in through the doggy door and shoved it under the mat for us. He was sitting proudly nearby, occasionally playing with it and excited that we were there to enjoy his gift. Not a copperhead, but definitely not what I had on my bingo card the day we were going to have our first child.
My wife has her flaws like they all do, but she has no issues with critters.
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On 5/12/2025 at 10:50 PM, NorthLoop said:
I think a coral would be my least amount of fear while seeing a Texas venomous snek. I grew up walking past copperheads in east TX so I'm used to them. They're pretty damn docile but fuck you can never see them. Cottonmouths can suck my dick. Every time I see a bullshit fb video about how they aren't aggressive I just wanna pull those fuckers back to my childhood and teenage years. Yes maybe they were just being curious but they still would've bitten me and they like to get danger close.
And in the 43 years I've lived in Texas, including spending countless summers on our ranch in Jack County, I have never seen a rattler in the wild. I've heard them a hundred times, but never seen one. Hell we have plenty of posts every year on our neighborhood fb page about them showing up in garages and shit. Still never seen one.
I'm 45 and can say the same. I've been hunting, fishing, hiking, playing golf, and pretty much living for the outdoors my entire life. I grew up in South Texas, I've lived in a very rural area for the last 20+ years, and I've owned a ranch in the Western Hill Country for the last decade. I've never once come upon a rattlesnake by myself. I've had employees find them in our warehouse. I've been hunting with buddies when they've spotted them. And, I've dispatched a few that others have come upon. But, I've never happened on one in the wild. Copperhead, Coral, and Cottonmouth... yes. All three many times. But, never a Rattler.
I figure that means I'll catch one in the calf while dove hunting in the very near future.
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I switched homeowners and auto insurance from Farmers to Chubb in 2022. When I was getting everything set up, my agent was asking me a series of questions. How many miles driven, were the vehicles garage kept, etc. Then he asked "do you drive more than 10,000 miles per year in Harris County?" Before answering, I paused and asked him why that question was on the survey. He said "Because Chubb has a surcharge for drivers in certain geographies. Their data shows that more than 30% of drivers in Harris County are uninsured."
Seems like that number would be pretty accurate.
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I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the BBWAA and the HOF create a one-time vote for any of the obviously blackballed players and makes a special category (wing like has been said for so many years) for their induction akin to the Era Committee.
Rose, Shoeless Joe, Bonds, Rocket, McGwire, Palmeiro, Sosa, A-Rod, ManRam.
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4 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:
Assuming there is a rooster in the mix, can you get the hens to brood the eggs, and produce chicks?
Anybody?
We've done both hen brooding and putting the eggs in an incubator. We had a broody hen years ago, snagged some fertilized eggs from a friend and let her sit on them until they hatched. They did, and she was no longer broody. Kids were young at that time, and loved the experience.
We had a Silkie rooster and a Frizzle hen a while back. Incubated those eggs and ended up with two "Frizzle" hens. Really cool looking bantams. Unfortunately, we had a coyote problem and they were the low hanging fruit.
Bottom line is, breeding is easy, natural and cheap with chickens.
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11 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:
Would love to hear more about the turkeys. Do they roost in the same coop as the chickens? Assuming they free-range, do they wander much?
We're about 10 years into chickens. Had two ducks for a while, but it was a pain keeping their little kiddie pool clean, and I'm afraid they'd end up in our swimming pool at the new house. We're considering adding turkeys later this year and/or meat birds. Would love to hear some feedback on the turkeys and the meat-bird situation if anyone does that.
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49 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:
Or hit that stump 1/2" under the surface.
That was always a rational fear. This was on Lake Medina in the early 2000's, and we always made sure to do it back in Elm Cove where we knew there were no stumps, but I always worried about a log floating just under the surface. I'm 40 lb heavier, 25 years older and that lake has 98% less water now, so no chance I'd do it there or anywhere else for that matter.
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18 hours ago, CHIEF said:
33-35mph. Depends on the size of your feet, and how much you weigh.
CHIEF
I've done it a hand full of times starting off a wake skate on my ass with behind a tow rope, and I needed to be right at 40 mph. I'd pull my buddy who was 5'6" 140 lb at right around 37 mph. Lots of fun until you fall.
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On 4/23/2025 at 7:00 PM, Gil Bang said:
There's still a surprisingly significant amount of Orangeburg pipe around Austin. It was used commonly right around WWII when iron was at a premium and before PVC became the mainstay.
@Armybrat those tunnelling / excavation jobs are no fun. There's a reason we sub out the excavation and just do the plumbing ourselves. Those guys make great money, but that's some hard ass work. We just finished a commercial tunnelling job that had two 4-man crews working for three weeks straight. Belly crawling with shovels and jackhammers pulling material out one bucket at a time. No thank you.
[sales pitch] if anyone on the board in the Austin area ever has any drain issues, shoot me a PM. I have a drain specialist on staff with a badass Ridgid sewer camera. I'll run that thing for free for you. That thing helps a ton at identifying the location and diagnosing the problem. She's a journeywoman plumber, knows her stuff and is great with steering the conversation for insurance purposes as well. Lots of other companies will make you sign an open-ended contract and charge you for the exploration. We know exactly where the blockage / breakage / sag is and can typically cut down on the overall cost with that degree of accuracy and precision in the location. It's loud and costly, but much better than a hole in the middle of your living room floor. [end sales pitch]
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Just thought of another one I hardly see out from behind the Pine Curtain, let alone outside of Texas / Louisiana.
Mayhaw Jelly.
My absolute favorite. Love it on a hot, fresh sourdough biscuit. My wife's aunt has a pint or two for me every time we go visit the farm.
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2 hours ago, WBT said:
We always called these Sport Peppers. Knew my wife was a keeper when she had those on the little bistro table in her kitchen when we started dating.
I'm also a big fan of Chile Pequins in a vinegar sauce. Back before my big plant froze, I'd pick a ton in the late summer, jam them down in an old Crystal hot sauce jar, add vinegar until full, and pop the lid back on. Awesome on stuff like green beans and Texas hash.
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What, if anything are you doing to keep the hole plumb / square? Looks like you're doing a good job maintaining dimension, but are you doing anything to keep everything straight? Does it even matter?
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4 hours ago, UTexasFight said:
What does the number on the left under the arrow mean?
Total green depth.
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2 hours ago, Hornbeliever said:
Just starting to get into golf so wanting to buy some clubs as the very very old ones I was gifted suck. I am nowhere good enough or committed enough (yet) to get fitted….given that, where is best place to buy set of clubs….Just go to PGA store or Academy or somewhere else?
if I’m still committed a couple years in, I’ll do things like get fitted but I have to show I love it enough before I commit to bigger dollars.
Where are you located? Depending on budget, you may be better off finding a decent set of used "game improvement" irons. I think for the value, they'll be better than an off-brand at Academy or Dick's. You may even want to go to PGA Superstore to hit some demo clubs. Figure out your swing speed and something that feels right, then try to find them used on FB Marketplace or some place like Play It Again Sports. Just my two cents.
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10 months post TJ surgery, my son got back on the bump against live batters for the first time yesterday. Just 3 batters. I didn't see it, but he said it was a mixed bag. He struggled with control, but his arm felt good. He's slated to pitch Tuesday (20 pitch max) on JV.
He's worked hard during recovery and followed a pretty dialed in protocol. Big improvement in core and leg strength over that timeframe. Got a really good pitching coach with experience in TJ rehab and a good grasp of biomechanics, so his delivery is way more consistent and repeatable. I think he's in a better, healthier, more disciplined spot than he was prior to injury. We're really trying to keep him from overdoing it, but he's 17 and pushing the envelope.
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I was digging through some old keepsakes that my parents gave me when they recently moved. Found my first little league picture. American Little League tee ball in Corpus Christi circa 1986. I was the only gringo on the team. We were the Yankees. We had yellow and white shirts emblazoned with "Yankees" in script across the front and a yellow hat with "American" across the front. This was complemented by blue jeans since we couldn't afford baseball pants. Nothing about our uniform resembled the Bronx Bombers. The league, my team, my family couldn't afford baseball pants let alone the full licensed apparel. Kind of funny to show to my son after spending the last several years playing select ball with multiple uniforms for every team.
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I've decided to dig a hole
in Hobbies
Posted
About two years ago, I was putting in some temporary fencing along the road through my front pasture. That area is mostly caliche, so it wasn't too tough to drive in T-posts. Not as easy as loam, but much better than solid rock. I had about 30 or so 6 footers to get in the ground before I strung the barbed wire. It's the middle of summer, just shy of beer:30 in the afternoon, I'm on the last post, and I'm dog tired. I've got it almost all the way into the ground, so the top of the post is pretty low. Evidently, I lifted it up a tad too high and the driver caromed off the top of the post, turned a few degrees away from me which mean I slammed the butt end of the driver down squarely in the middle of my forehead. I think the brim of my baseball cap saved me from needing staples and probably prevented a concussion. I was still seeing stars and bleeding like a stuck pig. I walked the 200 yards back to the house with blood dumping down my face. My wife turned white as a ghost when I walked in the house. I told her "tis but a flesh wound" (which it was). Crazy how much you can bleed from a scalp wound. I had to throw away my shirt and jeans.