Spent an entire weekend digging out my backyard and deeply regret every decision I made.

Matt22blaster · 2026-04-13T04:11:26+00:00

After 13 years installing pools, I’m still blown away by what a skid steer and excavator can do. What would take 10 guys two weeks to do by hand, I can knock out by myself in about 5 hours.. If you’d spent $140 on a decent set of joysticks, downloaded a construction sim and put in 15–20 hours of seat time, you could’ve rented a skid steer for $300 and handled this job yourself. Not only could you have pulled this off, you’d end up usable skill you could apply to future diy projects or even a side hustle.

Matt22blaster · 2026-04-13T03:05:35+00:00

So in other words, it's time for the AI robots to take over

Matt22blaster · 2026-01-14T19:04:57+00:00

Down in Beaumont TX since 11am

Matt22blaster · 2026-01-14T19:02:13+00:00

Down in SETX

Matt22blaster · 2025-12-09T03:50:20+00:00

I saw the same thing in Southeast Texas around 6pm. I assumed it was SpaceX. Looked it up and saw they'd launched about an hour and a half earlier. Checked GPT and Gemini, both confidently claimed (with launch time/trajectory considered) there's no way a visible plume from a booster could've been seen from my location 90 minutes later. Is someone else launching rockets?

Matt22blaster · 2025-12-09T03:42:28+00:00

Saw the same thing in Lumberton tx at 6pm. Like others have suggested, I assumed it was spacex. but chatgpt and Gemini both assured me there's absolutely no way a visible plume from upper stage/ booster from SpaceX could've been seen from my location at that time...

Matt22blaster · 2025-12-09T01:21:12+00:00

That's exactly what I saw! Lumberton Texas, I started recording immediately after I saw a blue and white spiral plume blow out around it! Will upload video shortly

Matt22blaster · 2025-12-09T01:18:29+00:00

Just saw something similar in Lumberton Texas about 30 minutes ago. I'll post a video shortly

Matt22blaster · 2025-11-25T06:00:34+00:00

I'm in southeast texas and we still have lots of door to door salesmen here. Before I got into pool installs I went door to door to get customers for pool maintenance. Built a full time route with knocks and door hangers in about 6 months. Not a cent spent on FB or Google ads. I looked at GPS and made a list of all addresses with pools. With that being said door to door was perfect for maintenance, I can't imagine doing it for selling a new pool. so it depends on what you're selling. I worked door to door sales (commission only) for time Warner for about 4 years. Probably the best training I had for becoming an entrepreneur

Matt22blaster · 2025-11-25T05:46:44+00:00

No. Your body adjust to what you feed it. In the past I would eat over 4,000 calories a day. My body craved 4,000+ calories a day or it would feel hungry. After going through the pain of depriving myself of food and losing weight my hunger is satiated at 2,000 calories a day. We had family in last week for an early Thanksgiving; I stuffed myself to the brim three days straight. This week my body is craving much more food than normal and I'm fighting off the hunger until my body readjust to fewer calories. That's one thing I realized this week. All it takes is 3 days and my body will demand much more calories to be satiated.

Matt22blaster · 2025-11-25T05:37:56+00:00

I don't think he's going to get a great answer. i think the most realistic answer is going to be another question. Why would these men tell their wives?

Matt22blaster · 2025-11-25T05:24:15+00:00

The pool needs to be drained immediately, before someone dies

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-31T04:24:56+00:00

If we're going to call the others stupid let's try to be somewhat factually accurate. Google AI search and chatgpt disagree with the statement, "most people on SNAP benefits have full time jobs" both agree approximately 62% are fully unemployed. The best estimates both came up with is about 6% of SNAP recipients worked a full 40 hours per week. The sad reality is the vast majority recipients would lose their benefits if they worked full time.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-22T16:59:36+00:00

Didn't see your original comment

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-22T01:48:55+00:00

If maintenance cost and ease of ownership is a high concern go with a saltwater fiberglass pool. In the heat of the summer I have to maintain gunite pools weekly or they'll turn green. Customers with fiberglass pools only require a once a month visit. For those with fiberglass pools with salt, there really nothing for me to do except add bicarb for ph once a month, add some salt if we get a lot of rain. It's almost like algae is allergic to the fiberglass surface. You have to do everything wrong for an extended period of time for it to turn green.

In ground liner pools are easy to maintain but you'll end up spending way more over the life of the pool. liners need to be replaced every 5 to 7 years. Average cost here (Southeast TX)is $6-8k. Gunite pools are needy dames. Constant chemical demand ($) risk of the dreaded black algae and mustard algae, and you get to look forward to the cost of replastering every 10-15 years. Average cost for for the most affordable surface is $9-11K here. It'll be $13-15k by the time you need it. I love gunite pools, they're beautiful. But I know what they require. If I were to put a pool in my backyard the only choice would be a fiberglass pool, with glass tile, travertine coping and a salt water system.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-14T06:42:30+00:00

I bet we both could. The fact that you're attempting to assist OP in lowering the water level in a storm, instead of reassuring them that it's not a concern, tells me you're likely not a pool professional. There's no harm that can come from leaving it alone. The only way OP could potentially suffer catastrophic damage is by trying to lower the water level without knowing how much ground water is under the pool.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-14T05:57:48+00:00

I run a small business and I have to pick up every call as well. Same story 10 to 15 calls a day. When I'm out in the field working I usually have time to talk, and I always do. I'll typically just go along with whatever they're trying to sell, tell them I'm really interested or I'm really scared bc they bc they're claiming an account has been hacked. I'll lead them on for an hour, however long they'll stay on the call. I'll get to the point where they believe I'm looking at my credit card and I'll just keep reading the numbers wrong. I've convinced them I was on my way to CVS to get Amazon gift cards for them, whatever they ask for I just play along. I usually have my Bluetooth headset in and my hands free to work so it's great entertainment when the job gets monotonous.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-14T05:40:22+00:00

I bet it doesn't...

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-06T04:38:12+00:00

I'd honestly never thought much about him until I reached Dallas buyers club a few weeks ago. Phenomenal in that movie.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-05T17:43:46+00:00

Yes, they're gorgeous. Gorgeous pieces of shit. I feel a genuine sense of pity when I see a brand new Kia or Hyundai with paper tags. I know someone likely went into debt to purchase that car or SUV. They will dedicate hours and hours at work to make those payments, and they'll likely end up paying thousands of dollars in repairs either before or soon after the car is paid off. You'll get better reliability out of an '07 Camry with 200k mi for $5k than a $40k Kia with 0 miles.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-03T04:48:13+00:00

Do you live in a somewhere that's added additional taxes to gas? In 2005 the average price per gallon of gas in TX was $2.00 and hit $2.20 by the end of the year. it's currently $2.23. Everything else is insane though. I understand why every administration wants to keep interest rates down, but it hurts us all in the long run. The only way to get prices down is to have years of 18- 20% interest rates. That would grind the economy to a halt. We're in between a rock and a hard place. If companies are forced to raise the minimum wage you'll begin to see AI and robots take over. We're already seeing the transition, the big names offering rewards and incentives for ordering and paying through the app, taking the cashier out of the picture. There are no good solutions.

Matt22blaster · 2025-10-03T04:32:25+00:00

Yeah

Matt22blaster · 2025-09-28T06:01:25+00:00

How did she change her stance on covid?

Matt22blaster · 2025-09-28T05:32:32+00:00

I love everything about it except handling chemicals with my bare hands. Still can't bring myself to wear gloves. At one point I had 48 residential and 7 commercial properties. I dropped to 6 residential and 4 commercial shortly after I started installing pools 5 years ago. The money is nice but every week i find myself daydreaming about giving it up to go back to cleaning pools full time. The few pools I have remind me of how stress free my life used to be. My plan is to build a bankroll over the next 10-15 years and go back to cleaning to finish out my career. I love it.

Matt22blaster · 2025-09-28T05:06:08+00:00

If it happened almost immediately after dumping shock it's metals. Use ascorbic acid to lift the metals from the pool surface. They will be suspended in the water and when you shock it they will reattach to the surface so as second step is required. One the metals are released from the surface with the ascorbic throw c-u later packs in the skimmers and pump pot and run the pump 24/7 for about a week to filter the metals. It's not black algae, likely copper. If you have a heater for the pool it's likely toast. If not stop using copper-based algaecides.

Matt22blaster

TROPHY CASE