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Spaulding Smails

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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. As the owner of a trade-based business, this topic is very near and dear to my heart. The comments about an aging workforce are very real, and in the 10 years we've been in business, the demand for trades has far outpaced the supply of skilled labor during the entirety of that stint. It has lead to a massive uptick in wages which I feel is more of a correction of value rather than an over-reaction to demand. I get on my soapbox often at work imploring recruitment of younger folks to join the trades. But, it's difficult, hot, sweaty, dirty work, and it's not very enticing if you don't see the big picture. I'd love to see a continued push towards apprenticeship programs. College isn't for everyone. And, with a little direction, the trades can be a wonderful way to give people some direction and purpose. I have dozens of stories of people who got their life on track because of the trades. If we could find investment for grants and scholarships for the trades similar to what is put forth towards higher education, it may create an incredible amount of value to the workforce as a whole and help to curb cost of living over the long haul (though that's a completely different topic). Additionally, the majority of these trades (especially the licensed ones) have defined apprenticeship programs that create a clear career path. So, the ROI on those investments should be equal to or more than the investment associated with a grant or scholarship to a university. For plumbers in Texas specifically, the culmination of that career path is a Responsible Master Plumber (RMP) designation. This is a step beyond a Master Plumber certification, and includes a fair amount of business basics. There's still a huge amount of great tradespeople who are shitty at running a business. In my eyes, if someone can couple a business degree with a license in the trades, they are almost guaranteeing a six figure income by the time they're 30 with the upside to make significantly more than that. All that being said, there's still so much value in a higher education. I'd just like to see more diverse offerings that provide an equitable solution that solves problems and meets the needs of more people entering the workforce by providing them with viable skills that are marketable for the entirety of their life.
  2. I'm convinced the damn texts popping up on my monitor cost me some points.
  3. After not setting foot in one for over a decade, I made the mistake of visiting a Fuddruckers a few weeks ago. What a shitty meal and a horrendous experience. Close to $20 for a burger, fries and a drink. Bland food. No condiment bar. Apathetic and lazy staff. The entire experience was utterly depressing.
  4. I had a discussion a while back with a friend: Do you gut in the field or gut at camp? It seems like it's more of a landowner preference, and maybe depends on photos. I grew up gutting in the field. But, since we've had our own place, I load everything up to bring it back to camp to either gut / skin / quarter from the A frame, put the guts in a big tub and go dump them when I'm done. I've never shot a nilgai, but I can see that being a major PITA to do it solo.
  5. Agreed. This is much more of a WANT than a need.
  6. That's interesting. As a lefty who struggles to do anything right handed, I'm the exact opposite. I shot a lever action 30-30 as a kid. Got a LH bolt action 270 as my HS graduation gift and still shoot it to this day. I was in the stand hog hunting this weekend with my son and his new bolt action 308. No shots fired, but it was so foreign for me to reach over the scope to chamber a shell. On the other hand, I've never owned a LH semi-auto shotgun. I shoot an O/U for dove and upland, but I've just gotten used to a RH semi-auto for ducks and geese. I think I'd fumble around at this point trying to convert to a LH shotgun. But, pistols are another story. I've never been a big pistol guy, but have a couple of 9 mm semi-autos and a 45. All RH. I was plinking the 45 with my son this weekend, and thinking how much more natural a LH pistol would be. This is still on my bucket list, but at $6K for a pistol, it's pretty far down the list of priorities. https://cabotguns.com/left-hand-1911s/
  7. I'm a week late here, but if in the Austin area, reach out to Southern Shutters in Manor. I bet they'd sell you a pre-primed tilt bar for cheap.
  8. Same. We have a bunch of the quart size plastic containers like you get when you order Lupe Tortilla's or Pappasitos. Perfect for chili gravy, leftover carne guisada, etc. I'll occasionally have to add a bit of beef broth, but other than that, it freezes really well.
  9. I was inspired by this thread last night. Realized right before plating that we were out of pickled jalapenos. Thank goodness I had a fresh one in the crisper.
  10. Ha! Fair enough. The Tyson / Smithfield model is a perfect example, but I'm talking about a local, individually owned level. To rephrase in my native tongue: If'n a feller had a section or two to run cattle, could he cut them big city boys out of the durn profits by sellin direct without havin to worry about the bank man callin his note every time it got drier'n a popcorn fart?
  11. So, I'm definitely in the watching from the sidelines crowd here, and I don't have any first hand experience on any of this, but I'm curious if a change in the typical model helps to mitigate some of the skinny margins. I completely agree on the land being the determining factor in making any of this even remotely feasible. But, I wonder if a more vertical model to integrate the entire process combined with ancillary cash crops and other livestock creates more profit opportunities along the way. Granted, it takes the cap ex needed on the front end to another stratosphere, but I have half a mind to run a pro forma on it eventually. Probably a pipe dream, and I couldn't do it on my few hundred acres in rocky, arid Kimble County, but I'm curious how much of an impact eliminating the profit margins of everything from the feed lot to the packing plant to the retailer have on the overall feasibility of running a cattle operation from a profitability standpoint.
  12. I've always prided myself on having an iron gut. I can eat a bowl of Texas red and a dozen Shiner Bocks and have a perfect one-wiper the next morning. Like clockwork. The only time I can remember sharting was when I was 17 and had Giardia and shit my brains out for 2+ weeks and lost 15% of my bodyweight. But, I found myself strangely gravitating to this thread over the past several months. Like a moth to a flame. Like Surly was telling me something. I would read and scoff at the olds and intestinally challenged. Then, it happened yesterday. Thank goodness I was home. At 43, my age finally got the best of my sphincter. Went to a benefit dinner Saturday night and loaded up on BBQ. Woke up Sunday morning with a case of the bubble guts. Had to stop clearing brush at least thrice to quickly visit the throne, but avoided any damages. Started feeling better mid day, so I was grilling beef lengua and chicken thighs for tacos and enjoying a few cold Pacificos last night when a fart betrayed me. Sure enough, had to change skivvies and run a load of wash. Avoided another near miss at about 2 AM this morning laying in bed. Told myself not to trust another one until this passed. Still fighting the rot gut today. Fingers crossed I can make it home tonight unscathed. I feel like the guy that just had an OSHA recordable and had to erase the current record for days without an injury. At this point, I'm going to have to make it to my 70s to top that record. Now I know what Cal Ripken felt like.
  13. The pigs ebb and flow for us in Kimble County. We don't have any live water other than two cisterns, but we have two dry creeks that will hold some water when it's wet. That's when we typically see an influx. My dad took two little guys Thursday morning. He waited for mama and she never showed. These were about 10 lb each. From a hunting standpoint, I like having them out there in small numbers, but holy crap I've seen how destructive they can be. The place I hunted in Live Oak County 15 years ago had two big pastures that were completely lost because the hogs rooted them up so much that the rancher couldn't even harvest the coastal. We do our best to keep them at bay!
  14. Bummer, @BrazilHorn. I took a ricochet in the face when I was in HS throwing BP in a cage. No fun. Can't imagine a line drive from 30' away. My son is officially done with LL and spring select. On to HS baseball as a freshman. He pitched an intersquad game this week against JV and said he went 2 IPs with a walk and 4 Ks. Getting lots of reps at 1B and in the OF as well. A few more scrimmages, then first tourney next weekend. It's bittersweet. I do miss coaching LL and select ball was fun, but holy crap it's nice to not have to take your kid to practice twice a week or have every weekend booked solid until June. We can actually fish this spring! Just pick him up from the HS after practice, and show up to watch games. Not to mention saving $$$. He's been playing with / against this group in LL and select since he was in tee ball. It's pretty awesome that they're all finally on the same team now. Good bunch of kids, and I think they'll be pretty solid this year.
  15. It's great, but takes some work. Best to let it season for a year or more. Also need to de-bark it and split it. I use it for smoking and big pieces for the fireplace. I'll typically get the fireplace started with Red Oak then switch to Live Oak when I have a good bed of coals. Same on the smoker, but I start with charcoal or Mesquite to get the bed going. It better be good. I'm forecasting at least two cords of split Live Oak when I'm done with the carnage at my place. And probably a decade's worth of firewood at the ranch, unfortunately.
  16. Fixed it for you. I do own two flatbeds that run the majority of our deliveries. They're great for that, but the ride is rough, and they're single cab. I don't disagree with your statement, but when my week consists of hauling stuff and carting around my three kids, then I'll take a pickup truck. If you really ONLY need to get to and from work, you'd have a motorcycle or scooter to minimize expense and save fuel. The catch is, it's not ONLY for those functions. Same with a truck. Heck, if I had my way, I'd have a car, an SUV, a pickup and a flatbed. Use each for their intended purpose. But, if I can only have one, I'm taking a pickup.
  17. A few years ago, we did a neighborhood work day. Clearing brush in common areas, etc. I had a brush chipper behind my truck, and we needed to cut a few branches in a tight area, so I put my chainsaw in the back of another guy's truck. He got PISSED that I was messing up his bedliner. With a chainsaw. He was taking pride in the fact that he'd never scratched his bedliner in his three year old F150 Platinum. I was befuddled.
  18. I'll be the pariah here. For now, my everyday driver is a Ford F350. 16 mpg. I own a construction company, so it gets more than its fair share of use. I have driven it daily because I often can't plan ahead when I need to hook up to my gooseneck or dump trailer or grab a pallet of materials. I'd guess there's something heavy in the bed or behind the bumper at least 3-4 times per week. The fuel mileage sucks. Parking sucks. Heck, I catch an Uber when I'm going anywhere near downtown. That being said, my business is changing, and I'm spending less and less time in the field and more time in the office as we've grown. I plan on keeping this truck for a pretty good while, but will likely replace it with an F150 as my daily driver within the next year or so. I've never not owned a truck. I don't see that changing.
  19. He did make me get my foot off the boat during his pre-departure speech. It's easy to grin when your ship's come in and you've got the stock market beat. But the man worthwhile is the one who can smile when his shorts aren't too tight in the seat!
  20. I had no idea this was a thing. Glass powder on kite strings? Gives me PTSD flashbacks of when my son almost lost his pinky finger from a tow rope tied to a tube behind a boat. He reached down to grab the rope when it had slack, FIL didn't see him reach down, gave it some throttle, and POP. Peeled the skin off almost to the bone from the second knuckle to the nail. A 20 min boat ride back to the dock followed by an hour drive to the Jasper ER and 30+ stitches later, he was back in business. Doctors were amazed there was no ligament or tendon damage.
  21. Same all around from everyone I've talked to. Our deer numbers were down in Kimble county. Same reports from a few others I know out that way. My uncle reported a 40% reduction in total count YOY based on his deer survey at his ranch in Duval county. He said they saw very few fawns and yearlings this year. Their harvest numbers were as low as they've been in 20+ years.
  22. 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.
  23. Gary Plauche worked for my dad when that all went down.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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