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Spaulding Smails

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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. I saw the same thing with the trees. Given the heightened scrutiny of this project from an environmental standpoint, it would be a pretty boneheaded move to whack heritage trees right off the bat. To your point, I guarantee they have a tree survey from that area. And, I'm curious on the bigger trees near William Cannon as well. They moved some major trees on campus for the Blanton and the North DKR expansion, so it can be done. Regardless, they'll have a hefty tree replacement program for sure. Regarding the batch plant, it's definitely going to happen. It's logistically and economically the right move. It's going to suck for the neighbors in the immediate vicinity, but for the community as a whole, having a temporary batch plant on site (or within spitting distance) is a way better option than trucking. There's a ready mix plant near Circle Drive, but the next closest ones are at Ben White / I-35. And, for a project of this size, the concrete needs are vast, and pour times could literally be at damn near any time of day, so an on-site dedicated batch plant is a must.
  2. Same. I knew the hearing was earlier this month, but I've found nothing. I'm going to reach out to my TxDOT buddy later this week to catch a beer after work, so I'm hoping to get the scoop then.
  3. Thirded. You're going to love it. I went in 2012. Only the Thursday round, but it was a blast. 16 is a must. 17 is an awesome hole as well. See if you can get suite access. It'll turn the experience up to 11.
  4. I'm in the same boat. But, the majority of my recent hunts in Central Texas have been Mourning Dove. I do carry a few boxes of #6 in my shell box if we're getting into high-flying WWs. I've gotten to be a bit of a gear snob, so I have a loaded Yeti bucket with a lid for dove hunting, plus a go-bag for quail and a larger go-bag for ducks / geese. Pure #6 for quail and #3 / #4 steel shot for ducks plus steel BBs in the same bag for geese. I like not having to mix-and-match every time.
  5. Great thread. I'm enjoying and learning a lot on some of the responses. We're in a position to do this financially right now, but have decided to wait a few years on some family-related items. It's interesting to see the mixed bag of responses regarding short-term rentals and their pros and cons. Part of me wants to just go ahead and bite the bullet now to get something that would serve primarily as a rental that we could use a half dozen times a year, but I know how picky we are about the setup, and I have a feeling we're going to be better off building something new or doing a major remodel. I'm curious if anyone has tried to build or undergo a large project from hours away and how it fared. I'm cognizant of the issues of reliable support in vacation towns, so my expectations are pretty low around contractors in those areas (especially given that's what I do for a living and I hear the horror stories of others here locally). If anyone has any stories (good or bad) on that front, please fire away.
  6. @Enchubben did they at least give you some warning? A heads up? An opportunity to stop those transactions? When I launched my website after about two years in business (residential construction), our web designer defaulted to using PayPal for our "Make a Payment" button. It worked pretty well at first. Got our funds relatively quickly. Easy interface for our clients. After about two years, we started picking up some larger jobs. One day, I get a call from PayPal saying that, due to my volume and the "risky business" I was in, they'd be holding my funds for SIX MONTHS. So, they were going to hold $80K for half a year on a project that was going to take a little more than a month to complete. Of course, it was buried in the T&Cs that I never read that they could do this, but as a service provider, a little proactive communication would have been nice. They wouldn't budge. Not an inch. Not on the next transaction. Not down to three months. Nada. I had my customer void the transaction and pay via check. And, I promptly removed the PayPal option from the website. I'm all for protecting your own best interests and minimizing your risk as a service provider, but dammit, tell your customers ahead of time. I think OnlyFans is going to tank with their decision, but at least they were proactive in communicating with their content providers and customers. Can you imagine the shit storm if that went down without any heads up?
  7. And sweaty Ugg boots that were worn without socks.
  8. I just joined in June. Have yet to play an MGA event though including the Legends Tourney that was this morning. Shoot me a DM if you have any specific questions.
  9. We had a buddy on a lease with us in South Texas from 98 - 07 that we affectionately referred to as "Blister". We named him that because he'd always show up after the hard work was done. I'll be doing the same next weekend. Still have a few trees to get down after the New Years Day ice storm. One big Red Oak in particular is resting right across the dry creek bed behind a feeder that I need to get out of there to open up some sight lines. Not looking forward to cutting up that big bastard, but it'll sure make for some great firewood.
  10. Neighborhood buck clan in Dripping Springs.
  11. Agree on all fronts, @Reagan1k. I just moved into a rent house, and the deer in our neighborhood are legit. It's amazing what you start to see when deer get some age going. And, 2,000 acres makes a world of difference in reducing the pressure! As much as I love our spot and the terrain and being with my folks, we're just too small to produce deer of any size. We've had the place for three years, and we've seen some decent deer (max 3.5 years) on game cameras, but they either turn into ghosts (or presumably sausage) in the first few weeks. Our place is <200 acres and surrounded by other tracts ranging from 150-600 acres. The first two years, we saw fairly limited hunting pressure, but last year, that pressure seemed constant. We've harvested one whitetail buck and one axis buck in three years. The whitetail was a 3.5 year old 4 point that was a great cull and first buck for my son. I'm becoming resigned to the fact that, no matter how hard we manage and protein feed, we're not going to ever see anything of a decent size.
  12. Redfish on the half shell while my buddy's cabin on the intracoastal at the edge of Baffin bay. Fried alligator gar at Rocha's El Catan in Laredo. Fried Opelousas catfish with hushpuppies, crinkle cut fries, homemade tartar sauce and cole slaw at my in-laws' lake house on Toledo Bend. Spicy boudin at Robert's in Orange.
  13. @Reagan1k what county are you in?
  14. When my folks moved from Houston, they downsized significantly. I was fortunate enough to inherit my dad's Klipsch Cornwall speakers. He's a huge audiophile and an amateur musician, but he didn't have room for them when my folks downsized after my sister graduated from HS. They were late 70s models. Sounded amazing. I had them in my first two homes, and to this day, they're still the most impressive sounding speakers for music that I've ever owned. When we moved in 2013, I ended up refinishing them and giving them back to my dad. He still has them in his music room. I need to get some pics the next time I'm there.
  15. I'm ready. Got a dove lease lined up near Geronimo plus a buddy's ranch 15 min from the house that's along a decent flyway. We've seen a few nice bucks the last few weeks at the ranch. I'll probably set out game cameras in the next few weeks as well. Love this time of year!
  16. 1. Texas BBQ 2. Tex-Mex 3. Gulf coast seafood 4. Cajun 5. Soul / Southern
  17. I finally joined Onion Creek a few months ago. Started playing more regularly than I had in the past 15 years. First time to ever keep a handicap. Had to take about a month off during our move, but got back out yesterday. Hadn't touched a club at all. Proceeded to shoot a 62 on the front including a 14 that was the result of three straight drives OB. Followed that up with a 39 on the back for a smooth 101. I'm relatively certain a 23 stroke swing between sides is a record for me.
  18. I'll get a part list from my plumber that installed it.
  19. Here's my shop setup. Pretty simple. Added a T with filter and spigot for the guys to fill up their coolers. I'm going to do something smaller / simpler at the ranch in the next year or so as well.
  20. I just installed one at the shop for my guys. I'll send pics of the setup. In the week since we've had it running, just know you're gonna see a ton of condensation runoff from the melting ice, so if it's running constantly, make sure you plan accordingly.
  21. That series is a MI Window product. Decent builder-grade window. Should be fine for Central Texas.
  22. Agree completely with both you and @F250. From a purely rational point, the push of capitalism towards specialization is absolutely correct. But, the emotional connection is what keeps it in check to a certain degree, at least on an individual basis. Heck, if it was purely capitalism, then we'd completely lose skills like blacksmithing, wood carving, etc. Since a teen, I've always wanted to learn as many skills as I could. Carpentry, welding, electrical, plumbing, cooking, gardening, working on equipment. I sincerely enjoy the pride of completing a project well. And, I'll admit that I like being the one that friends and family ask to help, ask to borrow tools from, and ask for advice on how to do things. I like at least knowing that I COULD do something if I wanted to. But, I've finally found myself reaching a point of beginning to defer to others for some of these tasks recently. For example, I had three relatively minor plumbing issues at my house. I brought my plumber out to take care of it. We needed a second A-frame at the ranch. I hired a welder to build it for me. Five years ago, I would have absolutely done those projects myself. But, I'm at a point in my professional and personal life where I outsource those occasionally. I try to at least do the things that are manageable and don't snowball. I like breaking a good sweat working outside and knocking some things off a list while having something productive to show for it at the end of the day. I'm not sure a purely capitalistic view can account for that sentiment.
  23. This strategy is brilliant and so worth it. My wife, mom, MIL and sister took my kids with the cousins three years ago. I stayed back and GLADY watched the other one.
  24. Gasoline safety cans.
  25. I think you're smart to find someone or something other than you to validate the lack of a reimbursement. That could be the articles of incorporation or the statute that @Huckleberry referenced. Make sure this is "them vs the league" not "them vs YOU". To lighten the blow on them financially, can you issue them an 80G certificate so they can at least write off the "donation"?
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