Spaulding Smails

You really have no idea how much your athletic abilities have regressed as you age until you see it in cold, hard numbers. I played HS baseball. Topped out in the low 80s as a lefty. Fast forward 20 years. I started playing in a sandlot baseball league here in Austin. So much fun. Way better than softball. And it scratched my itch to pitch again. But way more relaxed than the competitive men's league in Austin. I've been playing the last two summers, and my arm feels good. Really good. I seriously thought in my head that I was back touching 80 with my fastball (thank God I never said that to anyone else). WRONG. Got in front of a radar gun and struggled to hit 70. Very humbling. Knowing that cold hard truth, I doubt I could throw an NCAA football 50 yds at this point in life let alone a NFL football. Where's the Nerf Turbo when you need it???

Just over 1" in the gauge this morning out in the Drip. Low water crossing was dry for the first time in over a month yesterday afternoon. Back to 6-8" over the road again this morning.

Headed to Northern Minnesota next week for a four-day work trip. High for the duration of the trip is forecasted at 25. My employees are freaking out and acting like we're going to Antarctica for a month. I reassured them our meetings are not outdoors and they'll be just fine.

If you don't mind driving back westward when it's ready, check out Granzin's in New Braunfels. Been my go-to for the last 20+ years. Dried smoked sausage is like crack. If I have enough meat, I'll usually get 20 lb dried smoked sausage (60/40 hot), 20 lb smoked link sausage (50/50 hot), 20 lb pan sausage (50/05 hot), and the rest hamburger (50/50). Take the straps out in the field (unless you're going to cape it). And swing by Dripping Springs on your way to give me the tenders so I can properly dispose of those for you.

I believe it's called the, "I have a fat neck I'm trying to hide" beard.

I'm down to just eggplant and habaneros left from the spring / summer garden. Everything else has played out, although I have some volunteer sweet potatoes popping up, so we'll let that ride for the next few weeks to see what we get. I missed my window of opportunity to get the fall garden going between monsoons in early October, so I'm about three weeks behind my schedule. Finally got out there early last week and got some seeds and seedlings in the ground. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, a few varieties of lettuce, collards, kale, cilantro, carrots, garlic and shallots.

As noted, unless you're really taking your time cleaning it, I'd opt for something other than enamel. All of our paint crews run two spray rigs. One for latex and one for enamel. Consider using Sherwin-Williams DTM acrylic for metal surfaces. Paints just as well as an enamel, great for 95% of all applications, and much easier to clean than an oil-based product.

If you decide to pay someone to do it, go to Texas Hitch & Truck Center. Two locations in Austin. Nick the owner is a Longhorn alum and I believe a fellow Surly. Good dude and knows his shit when it comes to trucks.

Bingo. This is also our go-to spot for jalapeño cheddar biscuit and two taquitos at 3 AM on the way to goose hunt. Always fun to roll to order breakfast on a Sunday morning while all the drunks are sobering up. My go-to (and my favorite) is the Whataburger in Taft. Hit it on the way back from Rockport many a time. Whataburger in Bastrop has always sucked ass. Used to stop there on the way to visit the in-laws in Houston. No mas. Too many screwed up orders and long waits.

Good to know. Had no idea if dealers had a cut-off on age of machine that they would work on or if they had the flexibility to decline work on older machines.

@davidg call RDO Equipment in Irving. They're the Deere dealer for the Dallas area. They probably won't work on it, but they'll be a good source for a local mechanic who may take a look for you.

Breck and Telluride have been posting decent pictures. Telluride had 5+" yesterday.

Bump. Thinking of taking my 11-yo son out there this coming Spring Break. I'm born and raised in Texas, but have never been. Spent time in Fort Davis, but not Big Bend. My plan is to leave Friday when he gets out of school, stay at the ranch in Kimble Co, and try to get there before lunch Saturday. Thinking that we'll stay through Tuesday afternoon then head back.We've hiked a bunch including overnight hikes and have a good setup for primitive camping. I'm going to look at lodging availability this coming week, but I'd imagine we'll have at least one night camping in the back country. More if lodging is scarce. What's the best strategy? Backcountry camping along the trails? I know Spring Break tends to be a busy time. Any must see areas? Anything to avoid? I'll hang up and listen.

Some dude named Nimitz was kind of a bad ass in WWII. Born and raised in Fredericksburg.

There's also no way one baby did that to a fit and toned body. "But, but, but I was pregnant! Don't shame me for sitting on the couch for 7-1/2 months drinking a 2L of Coca Cola and a bag of Cheetos every day. Baby was HUNGRY!!!!"

I was a Ridgid guy for the longest time, but switched to Makita starting about 2-3 years ago. I've had good luck with their cordless and corded tools. Their brushless stuff is really nice if you use it a ton. The carpenters on my staff all prefer Makita, but my welders swear by Milwaukee. That's pretty much all we buy as a company. They're the two brands that we have as "approved" brands for power tools. Also, I recommend buying them from a specialty tool place if you get a chance. So much easier to handle warranty claims when compared to Home Depot or Lowes.

We played in the mud in Live Oak County this weekend for South Zone opener. We had a commitment Saturday morning, so we didn't make it down there until 3 PM Saturday. Sat on the patio and watched it rain until 6 PM. Got an hour of hunting in before it opened up again. It was a damn shame too. Both my 10-yo son and I were shooting lights out. The birds werent flying like crazy, but they were coming in to the Mojos in manageable quantities. The boy had three birds in about 10 shots, and I hit six of eight. They were slow the next morning, and we only got three more between us. Fun times, but muddy and messy.

I was thinking the same thing. Supposed to head down to Live Oak County this weekend. Looks like sitting on the porch with the skeet thrower drinking beer it is!

I believe it comes standard on the King Ranch and Platinum packages, but is an additional option with the Lariat package. I ordered the Lariat and opted to add the LED headlights and amber clearance lights. I think the LED upgrade was about $500. Amber lights was $200ish, IIRC.

Thanks for the advice. A good friend owns a truck accessory shop, so I'll make sure to mention this to him. Literally taking the truck straight from the dealership there to get a few bells and whistles added.

Do you even valet, bro? If I'm traveling for a long weekend or really anything less than 4 days, I valet. Drop your car. Hand them the keys and walk across the street to to security check-in. Call them when you land, and your car is pulled up and running. You can put this in the "trivial things that please you" category for me. Worth the extra $10/day or whatever it is.

Carpentry (mostly fine carpentry and millwork), specialty / custom doors & windows, welding & fabrication and paint. We also have a demolition division, but wage increases haven't been as noticeable there. It's primarily evident in the more skilled trades. We're in Austin. We focus on high-end, architecturally driven work which limits our pool of applicants from both a skill standpoint as well as a professional standpoint. I'm often sending guys into occupied $5M+ residences, so we admittedly pay a premium for talented, respectable employees. I think those wages are happening in Texas. And maybe we're paying a premium, but I think that skilled MEP trades are seeing spikes as well. It may not be as high of an increase from a percentage standpoint because those trades historically had higher starting pay rates than carpentry or paint, for example. But, I do know that lead HVAC techs are easily making $35/hr in Austin right now. I'd assume journeyman plumbers and electricians are $30+/hr as well. This is exactly right. My neighbor just finished a landscaping project with lots of big stacked limestone. He got an estimate that was double what he was expecting and decided he would do it himself. It wasn't rocket science, but it was hard work. I saw him working a full weekend on it, then two days later a crew showed up to do the work. I asked him what happened and he said it was just too damn hard and he would pay them to do it. If you're willing to do the work that others can't do / don't want to do, you can make good money. Doesn't matter if you're hanging from a swing stage or moving 200 lb stones.

It is a crapshoot. And, I also realize that as a trade-based company, we're in the cat bird seat right now. At some point, that will be reversed. But, we're striking while the iron is hot. We've shifted to more and more time and materials work, fixed bids valid for no more than 30 days and allowances for materials that gets reassessed at the time the scope commences. We do high-end residential work, so most of it is over-and-done in six months. But, we do have architecturally driven work that will bid and go through redesign for months on end. And then the owner / architect flips out about wages increasing. I have no idea how these commercial guys are doing in on projects that span 3-4 years.

I'm in the trade / construction business. Demolition, carpentry, paint, welding. Earlier this year, I did a wage comparison for my W2 employees. 2014 vs 2018. In four years, my average hourly wage has gone up 35%. Add in the fact that we've added benefits and 401k over that timeframe, and my loaded wage rate has jumped by 50+%. My lead carpenters that were making $18/hr are now making $30/hr. My lead painters that were making $16/hr are now making $25/hr. We've adjusted our pricing to reflect those wages. And, we haven't missed a beat from a revenue or profit standpoint. We've actually grown over that timeframe. Those guys were grossly underpaid, and the wages have caught up. Simple supply and demand. It's nearing a breaking point, IMO, though. I've had guys leave that I was paying $23/hr and got offers for $35/hr for mid-level carpentry work. I could get on my soapbox about wages, but that would take more than a couple of posts.

Gorgeous truck, @Lat22. I finally pulled the trigger on a new truck. Ordered a 2019 F350 two weeks ago. Similar color scheme. Should be here in November or December. Already looking into the leveling kit and larger BFG-ATs. I'm torn on the retractable bed cover. I use the bed of my truck enough for large things that I think it would just get in the way or get damaged. I haul lumber, steel, stone, feed. I'm afraid it would be more of a hinderance. Plus, I went with the 8' bed and I'll probably put a headache rack and tool box on it. Anyone have any input on yes or no on that front? I've driven the wheels off my 2004 F150. Bought it used in 2007 with 35K miles. I put 30K miles on it between 2007-2013. I had a company truck, so this was my weekend truck to run to the coast, hunting trips, etc. Started my own business in 2013, and since then, I've put 165K miles on it. 235K miles total now. Just rebuilt the transmission and put new shoes on her. AC freezes up after an hour or so, but otherwise, she runs like a top. Retiring her to the ranch this winter, and she'll officially become a ranch truck.