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Spaulding Smails

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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. I wish I could add more context, but I was four when that happened. So, I don't remember it at all. This was a decent sized company, and my dad ran a pretty big area, and Gary reported to him. We were in Texas and it went down in Baton Rouge. Only thing I have recalled my dad saying was how much it shook him up after the abduction. Going back to the original point that resulted in this tangent, my dad and I have talked about "what would you do???" if something horrible happened to one of your kids. The Plauche thing always comes up.
  2. Gary Plauche worked for my dad when that all went down.
  3. My dad and I both love these HS football mascots. Nice find. Have some pos rep. A few Texas high schools missing: Falfurrias Jerseys Schulenburg Short Horns Tivy Antlers Fredericksburg Billies And, although not in Texas, the Dickinson Midgets out of North Dakota.
  4. Merry Christmas assholes! Quasi-Christmas gift + 20 year anniversary + kids have never traveled outside the states + scheduling around school and sports = August in Costa Rica. Staying for a week at the JW Marriott south of Tamarindo (cashed in a shit ton of points). Looking for some fun excursions. Would prefer private tours / guides as opposed to the congregating with the masses. We'd love to fish while we're down there once or twice as well. Any input from @justhookit on potential offshore charters and anyone else on jungle excursions, etc? We're not much for sitting around, so any info on adventures around that area would be much appreciated.
  5. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we're at my in-laws' for Christmas for the first time in over a decade. My MIL is super sweet and very helpful with the kids, but she's turned the corner from "too many knick knacks and a bunch of clutter" to full-blown hoarder. I noticed a difference over. the last year. She no longer even tries to tidy things up. There's nowhere to sit because stuff is piled up on the chairs and the sofas. The dining table is covered with random stuff, so we ended up kind of eating Rudy's BBQ in shifts off paper plates. There's an armoire in the guest bath and one of the cabinets in the upstairs guest bedroom is full of unopened condiments like relish and mayo. Just totally random stuff in random places. I could go on for days. My wife is over it, but doesn't know how to address it. I think we're going to have to almost do a minor intervention next summer. I'm going to rent a dumpster and pay my son to go there with my wife to just de-clutter and throw shit out. It's gotten that bad.
  6. Thirded. 529 is the way to go. My mom grew up pretty damn poor. Not homeless by any stretch, but my maternal grandparents never owned a home and always lived paycheck to paycheck. My grandfather passed when I was 16. No life insurance and no savings. My grandmother continued working her hourly job well into her mid 70s and lived in a modest, rented duplex. In 2007, I got a call from my mom asking if I knew any attorneys familiar with oil and gas leases. Come to find out, my grandmother had taken care of her elderly aunt and uncle before they passed in the mid-80s. They had a small ranch in Webb County that they sold in the 70s, but retained mineral rights. They didn't have any kids, so they willed it to my grandmother in full. She had honestly forgotten about it until Sanchez Oil & Gas came calling. Long story short, my grandmother started receiving some pretty decent checks very late in life. The weren't Jed Clampett style, but they were enough for her to finally retire and move into a comfortable retirement home. Up until a few years ago, she hasn't offered anything nor have I asked. When she approached me about doing something nice for our kids a few years ago, I told her how thankful I was and asked that she contribute to their 529s. She was ecstatic, we were appreciative, and I don't feel any remorse or obligation.
  7. I'm not a birder, but I'll give @Patricio Swayze's second post a shot. Amazing photos! Yellow Crowned Heron (gorgeous one, BTW) Eastern Bluebird Ribeye of the Sky Rough Legged Hawk maybe? Have never seen one in person. Pileated Woodpecker? Maybe a RedHeaded Woodpecker. Can't remember the solid vs stripe on the head. No clue on this one. Maybe some sort of Flycatcher? Stilt Bird (think that's right but not sure it's the correct name, that's what we've always called them, could always tell by the red legs) Painted Bunting (my mom's absolute favorite) Roseate Spoonbill 'Murica!
  8. FANTASTIC thread. Love seeing these old pics. I need to dig up some of my grandparents and great grandparents. There's some classics for sure. And, why did every single black and white photograph with a description on the front have the EXACT same handwriting? All caps, a little shaky with a right side lean.
  9. I went deer hunting with my dad at his friend's lease in Lampasas during that cold snap. Two things I vividly remember: -Making homemade sternos out of lighter fluid and a roll of toilet paper in a coffee can. -Going to grab my dad's beer for him while he was quartering a doe. It was frozen solid after sitting on the table for less than an hour.
  10. Good point. Not like the media ever sensationalizes anything. Ever.
  11. You nailed it. Having that fall-back plan is what would've been nice. I took the entrepreneurial plunge in my early 30s with three kids and some savings. It sucked. It was (and still is) stressful, and I zapped my savings and put a halt on retirement investment during some peak earning years. But, I would've done it MUCH sooner if I would've had a big trust fund to fall back on. I'm in a very unique situation with my kids. I have a special needs son, so our entire long-term financial strategy is centered around making sure he has what he needs in life. I'd love to retire, but that'll be secondary to having financial security for him. My other two kids know it, and are OK with it (at least for now). As such, we've already set up a trust for our family and a special needs trust for him. If anyone has a special needs kiddo, I'd HIGHLY recommend doing it. Unfortunately, a special needs individual either needs to have a ton of money in the bank or none at all. We're early in the process, but the long-term financial implications of having a trust create the ability for them to have financial support without disqualification for state funding. Long term, in the event we're set up financially, I'd love to give my other two kids that cushion in the form of support to start a business. Personally, I'd rather make them grind it out early to figure out how to pay their phone bill and their streaming services or drive a shitty car and skip fancy dinners and big bar tabs for a while. I did that, and I truly feel like it gave me more budgeting discipline and a better overall financial foundation that I've since leveraged with some moderate success. Once they prove that they can operate with financial discipline, I'd love to support them via an investment if they have the desire to craft a sound business plan that I could support where a traditional lender may pass. That may be a business venture or a rental house or whatever, but that's the kind of stuff I think they could grow from rather than become dependent on.
  12. This is a really interesting topic that I think is becoming more common in recent years. And, I don't think it's binary by any stretch. And, you don't always know the entirety of the circumstances. For me, it's more of a function of how the parents and the children act. Are they humble? Are they generous? Do they stay grounded? I have three examples of varying degrees that kind of illustrate my perspective. For the record, my folks were squarely in the middle-class when I was growing up but did well later in life. I've never taken a dime from them. Including paying cash for my first vehicle at 16 after mowing yards for 3+ years and paying my way through college with help from scholarships. #1 - My BIL. 36 years old. My in-laws are not wealthy, but are both retired. He still has them pay his phone bill, cable, car insurance, and they provide him with free child care. He's always driven vehicles that they've given him. And, I know they made the 20% down payment when he bought his first house about five years ago. This one's more about his bad life decisions and my MIL being an enabler. #2 - My buddy from HS. His dad owned a mid-sized company that blew up right after we graduated HS. He and his three siblings absolutely lived off the teet for the entirety of their 20s. I remember him coming over when I moved into my second house in my mid 20s. Built a nice custom home. We got into a semi argument because he was convinced my parents bought the house for me. He confided that his parents bought all four kids' houses for them. But, to the credit of all four kids, it appears that they're somewhat independent and doing well now. The two daughters married successful guys, and the two sons now run the business and have actually continued to grow it while their dad has completely retired. To me, this one was more of the slingshot effect instead of continued dependence. #3 - My current friend. We met about 10 years ago. He's a few years older than me. Our kids are the same age. Lives in a nice house, but both he and his wife do well. No extravagant vacations, no crazy toys. Just normal folks. A few years ago, we were sitting around a fire and talking about our parents getting older, wills, estates, etc. I had never met his dad. Come to find out, he has a fairly significant trust fund. He said he used / abused it in his 20s, but when his son was born, he made a goal not to touch it. He wanted to be independence. He said it gave him the cushion to be independent and take chances in starting a new business. Credit to him for being humble, but he probably wouldn't be where he is if he didn't have the comfort of that fallback. So, to summarize, in my mind it's more about the person than the funds. You can have douchebags who get their phone paid for and you can have amazing people that you'd never know had millions with their name on it sitting in the bank.
  13. My business partner is a member out there and made an albatross on #1 a few months ago. He proceeded to shoot a 34 on the front. Sent me the scorecard where he mis-added and wrote a 35 in absolute chicken scratch. I still give him shit for that. If I had a freaking 2 on a par 5 with a 34 for 9 holes, it would be in my best penmanship and I'd make damn sure the total was accurate.
  14. My master plumber on staff is team no-drip. We install frost-free spigots on all new construction, but he still recommends protecting those. What he does suggest dripping when it gets down into the single digits or stays below freezing for more than 48 hours is hot water through any interior fixture mounted on an exterior wall and opening up cabinets beneath them where possible. I didn't have any burst pipes in '21, but I did have three bathrooms where water wouldn't run because the pipes were frozen solid. And that's with 1" insulation on all PEX plus spray-foam insulation on 2x6 exterior walls. Neither of that matters when you're 4+ days with no power and the temperature inside the house gets down to the mid-40s. The reason we had such carnage in '21 was compounded by the power outages. Exterior mounted tankless water heaters don't do very well when they don't have power to keep from freezing. And, once they're frozen, it's cost prohibitive to make repairs, so that means a full replacement.
  15. If you get bored, go back and look at the original list of items prohibited from being sold on certain days. The one that always stuck out to me was pots and pans. WTF? How did that ever get passed into law? Is there such thing as a kitchen implement teetotaler? The two big ones that I think are still in place are alcohol on Sundays / holidays and car dealerships not being open on both a Saturday and a Sunday. Unless that last one has been repealed. I got shot down by a convenience store clerk September 1. Forgot to load my cooler the night before, and tried to buy a sixer of Lone Star at 6 AM on the way to the field for opening day of dove season. Nope.
  16. I've been to the ranch ONCE since hunting season started. Was absolutely slammed at work throughout November. Follow that up with a nasty staph infection for my middle son that's lead to now week 3 in the hospital for him. Hoping to get there over New Years' weekend. Even though the freezer is full from an axis this spring and an elk this fall, I'm Jonesing bad.
  17. First opportunity to check the freeze tolerance of the new house. I'm extremely happy that I ran a separate loop for water to the hose bibs. Turn a valve, let them drain, and I'm done. No more spigot covers. I just need to hang a heat lamp next to my water pump and softener, and I should be good to go. Hopefully...
  18. First cold snap of the year, my wife always makes pot roast with a side of green beans, mashed potatoes and homemade rolls. Night two, we have leftovers via an open-faced roast sandwich over toasted white bread with melted provolone and white sauce (bechamel) drizzled over the top. I equate both to "old-school American comfort food". The other night, my son said that would be his last meal if he had a choice.
  19. When I was in my mid 20s (circa 2006), I went with a buddy to his deer lease out near Sonora. On the way out there, we stopped and picked up beer. And, we decided to grab some 4Loko. Like three each. We cracked them open when we turned off paved road for the 30 min drive to the camp. I don't think either of us finished drinking the first one. Dumped them out and went back to beer. Fast forward to the next evening, and I remember going to the cooler to grab a beer after the evening hunt and noticed the remaining four 4Lokos were gone. Come to find out, one of the other hunter's 16 year old kid had raided our cooler, snagged all four, and proceeded to get absolutely obliterated while we were all out hunting. I thought we were going to have to take that poor bastard to the ER. He was speaking in tongues, ripping off clothes, etc. Had I not known, I would've sworn he was on PCP.
  20. I wear Ariat most days. I think I've cycled through these about every 18 months. Rubber sole which works well given that I'm in construction. https://www.ariat.com/SPORT_HERDSMAN_M_FOO.html?dwvar_SPORT__HERDSMAN__M__FOO_width=D_Medium And, I can now vouch for Alvie's. Got my first pair a few weeks ago. Good price. Great service. Good looking boots. Owner is a super solid guy and a Texas State grad. https://www.alvies.com/
  21. I usually skin and hang my meat for 3-5 days. We're fortunate that we have a walk-in at the ranch. After deboning, I vacuum seal everything in the 15"x18" bags and throw it in the freezer. The WT was from last January, Axis was from April and Elk was from October. All the meat was great. No freezer burn. I pull everything out and let it get just barely thawed before we start cutting the muscles apart, removing silverskin and cubing. And, I make sure it stays super cold throughout the whole process. Like @Reagan1k said, I think you can leave it for a pretty good chunk of time if kept cold and dry. So, if you shoot a deer and you're going to process two weekends later, I think you're good. I'd freeze it in vacuum seal bags if you're going to wait any longer than that.
  22. @Anastasis put together a really nice summary. This hits close to home as we just did over 300 lb of whitetail, axis and elk sausages this weekend (and still have some elk left over). A few tips that I've learned over the years in addition to what @Anastasis noted. -Get a group of people. Kind of like making tamales, it's a lot more fun when you turn it into a social event. If you're doing it solo, keep it manageable. 300 lb between my wife and I sucked and took all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and most of the evenings Monday and Tuesday to get everything packaged and vacuum sealed. -Buy the good shit. Spend as much as you can on the grinder. Get lots of lug tubs. You'll need more than you think. -Be diligent with trimming silverskin, removing tendons, etc. IMO, it makes a huge difference on the quality of the sausage. So much better when you don't have a big chunk of gristle or a wad of silverskin ruining a bite. I think I'm going to buy one of these before next year. https://www.lemproducts.com/product/silverskin-knife-kit/meat-slicers -Keep everything VERY cold. It's safer and the meat grinds so much better when it's almost frozen. Clean your grinder parts between grinds, dry it and throw it in the freezer. The friction will heat it up quickly, and when the fat gets warm it will start to gum up the grinder blade. -Add ice water when you stuff into casings. We do one cup per 5 lb and that seems to be about right. It'll make it slide through the casing much easier. -Try different seasonings to dial in the flavor. Keep a skillet nearby and make a little patty to try before you call it done. We tweaked damn near every run in some form or fashion. More salt here. More pepper, there. -Vary the sausage you make. This year we did pan, Italian, Greek and chorizo (pic below). We'll do boudain, andouille, regular smoked and jalapeno cheddar smoked later this winter. We did nothing but smoked sausage at first, and got tired of it after a while. We bought half a steer as well this summer, so we're set for at least a year on hamburger and sausage. We won't have to buy a single link of sausage or a single pound of ground. It's nice to get some variety out of the same meat. -Make sure you have a system set up to hang the links. Cold smoking is awesome, but if you do the other varieties, you need to have a rack to hang them cold so the casings can dry out some. We use our garage beer fridge and I rigged up some S-hooks to hang them in there.
  23. I bought a similar bore sight laser setup after the first snafu with the mount. Got it dialed in and torqued down with very repeatable accuracy. To your point about that consistency, I've been shooting the same Savage 270 with a Leopold 3.5x10 and Winchester 130 grain rounds for WT hunting since 1998, and I've had to re-sight the scope exactly zero times. Always drives tacks. I (incorrectly) assumed that would be the case here. The guides seemed apathetic about shooting the day we arrived, so I didn't press the issue to check my zero before we hunted, but should have.
  24. I bought a rifle and scope specifically for this hunt. I was shooting a Browning X-Bolt 300 WinMag with a Swarovski X5i 5-25x56 scope and Federal 180 grain Nosler AccuBond rounds. Here's the scoop on the scope. I bought it at Cabela's and had them mount it. The first time I took it to the range, I couldn't even get it on the paper at 50 yds. I had it dialed all the way to the left and was still right of the target. I took it back, and the "head gunsmith" there told me the first guy put it on the wrong rings. After that, it was driving tacks. I shot it at the range twice and at the ranch twice. Had the elevation turret dialed in with the pre-set markers at 100/200/300. I chalked the miss up originally to the elevation turret. I had it set at 300 yds and didn't adjust it down for the 240 yd shot, and even though that should've only adjusted a few inches, it was my only guess. And, I had it back to my 100 yd zero for the cow shot. Now, after being off by 18" at 120 yds, I'm thinking there's something else going on. MAYBE, I hit it while hunting early in the trip. But, the rifle was secure in a good case during our travels, and I don't recall anything out of the ordinary from an impact standpoint. If I find out it's something with the mounts, I'll be pretty pissed at Cabela's and sternly worded letter will ensue. I should have some time this weekend to dig into it further.
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