DaubsNU1

Grew up across the street from a city pool...could probably swim before I walked. On swim-team, basically lived at the pool all summer long (and did NOT wear sunscreen back in the day...) On weekends our family would venture to the cabin, on the Platte River. Swam in the river, and sandpit all the time. I'm not a great swimmer, but pretty darn good. That said... When the big motor is running, my PFD is always on, and attached to the kill-switch. I do take it off when fishing. As I get older, and the balance goes...then the PFD will likely stay on 100% of the time.

I don't have skin-in-the-game, not since my favorite team wimped out and started playing in a dome. Yes, I was a Vikings fan back in the day. Coach Grant, Tarkengton, Foreman, Page. When they moved to the dome, I was done. So I just watch football. Here is what I noticed on Sunday: Andy Reid, Mahomes, Kelsey are wonderful. Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo is a d**n genius(!) Lamar is a special talent, but his passing prowess (and touch) leave much to be desired. Good defensive coordinators will find ways to limit his impact. He had a few opportunities to drop in passes for big gains / TD's, but he just couldn't do it. Spagnuolo's scheme shut down the Raven's rushing attack, and did just enough...and Mahomes delivered. Gotta love Dan Campbell...stayed true to his word...aggressive to the end...but that led to his demise. Taking points on 4th downs deep in enemy territory may have sealed the win for the Lions...but Campbell has been aggressive all year long, and rolled the dice. Left the door open for the 9'ers.

Brother had an interesting idea...purchase 7'6" Musky Rod...and cut three inches off the butt. Anyone ever do this?

Another vote for Rogan. I pick and choose the episodes I want to listen to...he has scientists, researchers, comedians, authors...people he finds interesting. I don't much care for his MMA episodes. Discovered Jordan B. Peterson via Rogan. Interesting man for sure. He also has a podcast. For comedy, two bears 1 cave is funny. Short podcast, the way I heard it from Mike Rowe.

My parents shared a cabin on the Platte River here in Nebraska with my grandparents, aunt and uncle. We called it a cabin...Grandpa, Dad and Uncles built the "cabin" in the 1960's -- Two rooms: A community bedroom with four double beds, and hide-a-bed couch A kitchen/living room with a big table, and another hide-a-bed couch Did have a porch It all sat on cinder blocks stacked four high. Didn't have indoor plumbing until the mid 70's. Well water No windows...had shutters over screens. No AC, no heat, but we did have electricity...and in later years we actually got a land-phone line installed. Our Cabin was part of a private RV-like park next to the Platte River. Some home-made cabins, some trailers, some shacks. Rules were simple...no permanent residence (you cannot live there all year round). No ATV's. Fireworks were okay. 10 MPH speed limit on the rock road through the park. We fished the sandpit lake, put out set lines in the Platte and caught catfish, and rode our bikes on rock-roads. Grandpa was a auto maintenance may for "Ma Bell," his job was to drive around Nebraska to all the small Northwestern Bell garages and change oil, get the vehicles running right.It got dusty in the summers. Grandpa, Dad and Uncle would save used motor oil, storing in large 55 gallon drums at the Cabin. Twice a year they would load an oil drum on a trailer, install a large drip pipe they custom built, and "oil the road, to keep dust down..." Worked well. We never thought anything about it. The road ran was between the cabin (and our water well), and the Platte River(!). They did this for YEARS. Probably in to the 1990's. Eventually someone put a stop to the road oiling. As a kid we never thought anything about oiling the road. Crazy....

Updated: I have Progressive as well. Insured for purchase price ($30k). Full coverage with $500 deductible. $500k liability coverage for bodily injury, property damage, includes fuel spill liability, $2,500 medical each person. $105 for the entire year. Well worth the money in my mind!

So much wisdom and good advice @ Bass Resource! Most excellent! I have read so much, watched so many videos, read books, talked with anglers/friends/strangers... It is a never-ending quest for the perfect pattern/lure/presentation/technique.

@gimruis, my first deer hunting trip was with a right handed 270 Win borrowed from my uncle. I looked like the sniper from Saving Private Ryan, shucking shells from the wrong side. Worked... @12poundbass, my first shotguns were right handed...Winchester 20 ga. Pump, and then a Remington 1100 12 ga. magnum. Working the safety was tricky...but got used to it. In 2001 picked up a left handed Benelli Super Black Eagle. Love it! No more shells bouncing off the bill of my hat : )

Back in 2000 I was in the market for a rifle...being left handed my options were pretty limited. I read, researched, picked up books, talked to other hunters, gunsmiths, my uncle, friends, Digested everything I could get my hands on. Mind you, my options were pretty limited in a left handed gun that fit my budget: 300 Win Mag 30-06 270 Winchester 7mm Rem MAG I will admit, I am a pansy when it comes to recoil. So i opted for the good-old 30-06. Easy to find ammo, can bullet-up for bigger game, scale down for smaller game. Not horrible on recoil. Been a great gun for 23 years. I did run in to a bit of luck, winning two fantasy football leagues in the early 2000's, and found $650 burning a hole in my pocket. Found a barely-used Winchester Model 70, stainless with a red-ish stock, chambered in 7mm Rem MAG. Had trouble dialing it in...then a buddy recommended slightly larger bullets...and it's been a tack-driver ever since. Both guns have served me well. I cannot complain. Every once and a while I get to looking a ballistic charts, bullet weights, FPS, range, drop, muzzle velocity, muzzle energy, etc., etc., etc. I think the 30-06 is a wonderful caliber. Enjoy!!

The diesel chewing up some drifts...making paths for my pups to run. JD x750 -- 54" snow blower

@Bankbeater I lived in Kirksville for ~10 years...St. Louis for 2. Felt like we got more ice down that way? Those wind chills are not common for Missouri. Ugh.

@Way north bass guy OUTSTANDING set up you got there! What JD is that? @A-Jay, tracked two-stage walk behind...EXCELLENT! Is that a Honda? @TnRiver46, buddy and I were in Alabama when the big winter storm of 1993 hit...we drove back north through Tennessee...we didn't see many snow plows. I'm thinking you don't get much snow in your parts(?)

Winter's in Eastern Nebraska have been pretty tame the past few years. Only got out the snow-blower twice last year. Maybe three times the year before that. November and December of this winter season were pretty calm...then January hit! I've been moving a lot of snow in 2024. We don't get dumped on like some locations further north, but the wind blows, and drifts can be difficult to cut through. Moved to acreage in 2018, and found a gently used John Deere x750 over in Iowa...just 79 hours on the clock. One year trying to move snow with a old single-stage snow blower....decided it was time for something more. Found a 54" two-stage snow blower used, with the quick-hitch for my JD. It's been a BEAST. Added 75lb wheel weights and chains...but had trouble getting from the shop to the driveway. So now I snow-blow my way up the hill. It's slow going, but works well. Lately I've been snow-blowing paths in the yard...cutting through two foot drifts so the pooches have a place to walk and do their business. How much snow you getting? How are you moving it? Daubs

My 81 year old carpenter Dad agrees with you. Back in the day, companies used some nasty chemicals to treat wood. The Pella windows in his house (built in 1970) are rock solid, showing no wear at all. On the other hand, the Pella windows in my 2005 house rotted and were replaced. The transom on my 1960 Rich Line was replaced a few years back...held up well for 60+ years!

@TOXIC & @MN Fisher, GM's four wheel drive system is different than Ford. Most 1/2-ton, 1500 GMC and Chevy trucks have these options: - 2 wheel high (only rear tires have power) - Auto (runs in 2 wheel drive...when system senses slippage, the transfer case automatically engages 4x4 mode. This is a great feature...loved it! Sadly, my 2019 2500HD does not have an Auto mode). - 4 wheel high (sends power to 4 wheels) - 4 wheel low (lower gear ratio, sends power to 4 wheels...used for rock crawling, off road situations...max speed is limited) GM trucks do not have locking front hubs. The front wheels are connected to the axle via splines, the transfer case disengages the front driveshaft and the axles disengage via actuator within the front axle housing.

Quiet & alone... Love fishing with my Brother and Dad. Love when the wife, and sometimes the pups join me in Marge (boat's nickname). I manage a team, and deal with people and customers/clients Monday through Friday. I cherish early mornings getting on the lake before everyone else, casting as the sun peeks over the horizon, listening to line peel off my reel...the ker-plunk of a lure hitting the water. I loves the whistle of wings, waterfowl soaring over head. The croaks of frogs. The breeze blowing through trees. No radio. No conversations. Move the boat a little to the left. There is the spot, that tree sitting in 4' of water, next to a drop off. Pitch the jig right there...pull out line so the fall is true. Wait. Wait. Is that a tap? Yes...SET THE HOOK! Thrashing, angry bass fighting against my rod. Keep the rod tip high...if he makes a run, let him. Oops, getting too close to the trolling motor...work him in to the open. Okay...it's time...gently now...rod tip up...grab the lip. Victory!!!

Yep, love the 54" snow blower. And yes, JD makes some box-store junk. Thankfully mine is not one of those.

@JackstrawIII, check out Shelta hats. I like because they fit my giant dome...XXXL. Stiff brim, and they float!

My childhood home was right across the street from a public pool. Every summer we would get fried / sunburn the first week, wore a t-shirt for a few days...then turned a nice shade of brown for the remainder of the summer. Never sunblock. Started wearing hats and sunglasses more, trying to avoid the sun...and sunblock, of course. Now it's long sleeve shirts, full coverage hats, buffs, etc. I need orthopedic inserts, so I always have good shoes on. I don't care for sunblock..."if it's on you, it's in you..." Chemicals... Materials are so light and comfy these days...easy to cover up. Great point @A-Jay on the vitamin D!

@airshot, agree, it does depend on what you are buying. You did much better with Craftsman than I did...and I did not move snow. When we moved to town in 2005, I was trying to sell my JD 445 for around $5k...neighbor scoffed at me, saying he could buy three box-store riding mowers for that price. I held firm and got good $$ for the 445. Over the next five years the neighbor did go through three box-store riding mowers. Asked the seller to throw in his 60" zero-turn with the deal on acreage...but seller declined. I'm glad they did...Really like the JD x750. Diesel, power steering, hydraulic deck lift...picked up the 54" snow blower used...moves snow like a champ. No where near as fast as a zero-turn, but the cut is nice, and I'm in no hurry.

I'm a big believe in "buy once, cry once..." Many years ago, first time home owner, I needed a yard tractor...went as inexpensive as I could with a Craftsman riding mower. It worked, did the job...but after three years, was basically falling apart. Co-worker suggested a John Deere...No way I could afford that. He convinced me to look at some used JD's...wow, huge difference. Yes, it was more $$ up front...but they are built to last. No regrets. Great until we moved to city...sold it for top dollar, it held value well. Years later wife and I moved back to acreage...and I didn't make the Craftsman mistake again...found a gently used John Deere x750 with 79 hours on the clock. It was not cheap, but it's been a BEAST mowing grass and moving snow. I have 288 hours now...the Yanmar diesel routinely runs 3,500-4,000 hours...it will likely out-live me(!) Find a boat you like. Spend some extra $$ if you need. You will not regret it. (note, it took me two months to find my Lund Adventure).

Understand completely @DitchPanda. Traveling with a friend in Huntsville Alabama in 1993 when the storm of the century hit...At first there was maybe a 1/2 inch of wet snow on the grass...nothing sticking on the roads...everything was closed...people freaking out. We just giggled. Next morning we headed north in his 1983 Crown Victoria, rear wheel drive, V8...no issues until we got in to Tennessee...where snow was stackin up on roads. Problem was, they did not have plows and snow removal equipment, nor the knowledge of how to make roads passable. It was a white-knuckle drive until we got in to Missouri. I remember the 1975 Blizzard here in Nebraska...19" of snow, 60 MPH winds. I remember digging tunnels in 5 foot high drifts for the next couple of weeks...thought it was pretty cool. But I was 8 years old at the time. It's -19 this morning, but the wind is only blowing 10-15 MPH today. Going to be another cold one.

Almost a foot of snow here in Eastern Nebraska...winds blowing 20-35 with gusts to 45 MPH...Temp right now is zero.

Does a 1960 Rich Line with 1974 Merc count as "retro"? Granted, lots of upgrades... And have since upgraded to a newer boat. But I'm still fishing my 1990's Cabela's branded rods and Shimano reels : )

My brother gave $25k for his 2020 Alaskan 1800. @A-Jay is right, "Life is short, get it now if you can."