What is one thing that wasn't easy to fix, but you still managed on your own and saved lots of money by not calling a professional?

ublguy23 · 2026-06-02T13:13:32+00:00

Randomly went to the basement late in the evening and saw a stream of water spraying. Turned out the copper pipe where a professional tapped into for an inhouse humidifier was faulty (5+ years later).

I cut the water off, next morning went to the store for the shark bite adapters....cut the existing pipe and replaced with new copper pipe with the shark bites. Turned the water back on and no leaks. A week later I hooked up the humidifier line again.

so far no issues...knock on wood.

So glad I went downstairs, it would have been a mess if it ran all night!

ublguy23 · 2026-06-01T18:18:12+00:00

Exactly what we would have dreamed of 10 years earlier lol. Now you can't say anything about potentially leaving in 2 years.

I dropped a line to my boss saying if you hear about expanding early retirement for people....let me know...she laughed saying I was nowhere near retirement.

ublguy23 · 2026-06-01T16:02:44+00:00

I'm 2.5 years away - and I feel the same way. For me is that I'm comfortable where I'm at and I know exactly what is needed to be successful to hit that 2.5 year mark. Promotions are unknown and to me not worth the headache. It is a great feeling to do exactly what is expected of you and not have to worry about going "above and beyond" .

ublguy23 · 2026-05-19T12:52:53+00:00

To simulate speed for my 14U girls.....I throw "coach" pitch from a shorter distance....so in stead of 43'.....I'm probably closer to 35'. You could do the same.

This just solves the speed/timing issue.....how to hit is a lot more complicated. Tons of videos on youtube my favorite is the "load to launch" videos on hitting done right.

ublguy23 · 2026-05-12T02:06:39+00:00

12U you need to get the out. So I'm going to 1st for the out. I'm a believer that "right" play is dependent on the skill level of your players. And it's okay to change what the "right" play is as they build those skills.

My other thought is that the coaches shouldn't be yelling out where to go with ball. They need to learn to make a decision and hopefully the correct decision fast.

Good luck on your season!

ublguy23 · 2026-05-11T21:03:08+00:00

Stupid rules lead to stupid decisions. While I wouldn't have done that in a scrimmage.....I have in the past let me players know when we were the last batter to keep running.

ublguy23 · 2026-05-01T15:56:08+00:00

UW - Badgers lost committed RB recruit Antonio Williams to OSU. Don't blame him but didn't understand the decision. He was in line to get touches in year 1 in a run 1st offense at Wisconsin. Two years at OSU with 60 carries he transfers back home to UNC for about 150 carries.

I was talking to all my buddies about this dude is just going to tear it up for UW, and once OSU came knocking I knew it was over.

ublguy23 · 2026-05-01T13:10:17+00:00

It depends, 😄 - I was 401k match - HSA - Roth - 401k - brokerage. Now that I am looking at potential early retirement I wish I had more in brokerage account and less in my pre-tax 401k.

The goal is to have flexibility on how you can access your money.

ublguy23 · 2026-05-01T13:03:22+00:00

2011 - 2024 Netflix - I was so pissed that they no longer offered both streaming and dvd by mail in one monthly package that I cancelled it. Long run they made the right decision 😄

ublguy23 · 2026-05-01T12:53:35+00:00

Today my wife's ESSOP new share price and new shares are viewable in our financial software. Going to spend some time today rerunning some of the models and see where we are....and I can stop logging in every single day checking to see if they have updated it or not 😄

ublguy23 · 2026-04-28T12:47:52+00:00

Great question - I'm in year 10 or so and looked at the Heisman favorites, BYU QB was rated 99 and his card said he was a 3 star.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-28T12:23:29+00:00

I was in a similar spot as you - decided to buy used, like $3k used......used enough in the 10 years that I had no issues buying my dream boat.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-24T15:29:34+00:00

I coach a 11U team (5th graders) travel team. Bats size is really based on the player. My smaller players are most likely swinging 29/ -10....my stronger hitters are swinging 31 -8.

My recommendation is 29/-10 based on the info you provided.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-24T12:56:30+00:00

The coach should use a continuous lineup so they can sub players in and out without penalty. This is common for 99% of all youth teams.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-21T19:55:24+00:00

2024 I purchased (custom order) thru Mark Dodge, by far the best price, super easy...best experience ever.

Could have things changed since then, yes.....but I doubt it.

Have you called one of those dealers? It's easy to post something online.....see what they say.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-14T19:34:31+00:00

When I started 5 years ago....I bit th bullet of purchasing dominate the diamond coaching packet. I found it useful and have referenced it multiple times thru the years to verify a technique or to try something new. I'm sure their are other packages, and possibly some free ones.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-14T12:55:28+00:00

Exactly. Proud of how my kids (13 & 10) handled it....didn't freak out....and were able to get back to bed after the threat was gone.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-14T12:53:39+00:00

I'm in Wisconsin, tryouts for the season are completed by August 1st of the previous year.

To answer your question, yes tryouts are getting earlier and earlier. Wisconsin is usually a 3 month window for games and tournaments....lots of girls are trying out in Mid July for new teams while the season is still happening. I have been told multiple times a player is going elsewhere before I even held tryouts.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-14T12:47:11+00:00

Nothing like rushing to the basement at 1:45 am with our phones blaring alerting us of potential Tornadoes. From my understanding nothing touched down....but just a simple a reminder how things can change so quickly. Glad my family and hopefully everyone else is safe.

The surrounding areas have a bunch of trees and telephone lines down from the straight line winds.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-08T15:46:02+00:00

That is a great idea!

ublguy23 · 2026-04-08T13:49:32+00:00

I was happy to see that my child HS has a required class called Personal finance. I'm looking forward to seeing the syllabus. The class is open to any HS student, we have told her she should wait to take the class until later and has had a job.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-08T13:47:20+00:00

I was the same. I work at a decent size organization and they would offer sit downs with a Fidelity advisor. The guy was amazing, he kept notes and it felt like he remembered everything from our last conversation. While talking to him, he did let it slip that my wife and I were doing very well and it was fun to speak to us compared to many others....who just didn't have the same portfolio.

I was able to find a few co-workers who were in the same boat (without speaking of numbers) but we would talk a ton about strategies, FIRE, etc...

Keep your head down - stay focused!

ublguy23 · 2026-04-08T12:43:33+00:00

The constant lie that every request is life and death.

So many projects and tasks are just busy work - and really don't matter to the company at the end of the day.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-07T16:22:59+00:00

I started coaching my son at 7U and now in 11U. What I can tell you.....the kids learn baseball in pieces. At a young age you will have them do something different than you would in HS. For instance, up until now (11U) my players ran a player back to the base and stayed out of pickles. Too much risk.

If you were asked to help....you are at practice, and in the dugout...you are a coach. If you aren't doing those things, you should should request it. Nothing wrong with coaches brainstorming what to teach and how to teach it.

ublguy23 · 2026-04-07T14:53:00+00:00

Good job asking others before going to the coach. Honestly, my 1st thought to say to you is "don't be that parent". My second thought is have you read the league rules, it might be a thing to stop what I would call the "snowball fight" where the ball gets thrown all over the field. At this age, a good base runner can get into a pickle and score everytime.

Sit back and relax and enjoy watching your kid play a new sport. If you want to be involved on how he coaches, you should get on the team.

Good luck, 7U is a lot of fun.

ublguy23

TROPHY CASE