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Wed. Oct. 1, 2025 – the year continues to run out

By on October 1st, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, long-term food storage, march to war

Cool. Yesterday was really cool to start but by afternoon, the sun was intense. Just sitting still in the sun had me soaked through my shirt. Soon enough we’ll be running the heat at night and the A/C during the day.

I did some auction stuff, then I did some pickups. After that, I got sidetracked with the radio in the truck, (and a couple of really small things along the way), and dinner. Dinner was ‘meh’. Frozen veg that wasn’t great to start. Rice in a pouch that was too much chiplotle or ancho. Baked panko breaded cod that just wasn’t all that tasty… oh well, can’t win every day.

Today I’ve got a big circle of pickups. I’m definitely buying less, and spending less time doing pickups, but I still want to get some of the things. I just need balance, and to use my time more efficiently.

That’s kinda the problem most of the time, not being efficient.

I need to backfill some stacks. I’ve thrown out 30# of white flour, and yesterday a quart of dried powdered cream. That definitely doesn’t last forever… and I’ve got to go through more of my canned goods and dump the worst of them. Time to rotate some of the deep storage too, including at the secondary site.

I’ll add that to the list, and maybe I can fit it in while doing other stuff.

Stack while you can, it’s getting spicier out there.

nick

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Tues. Sept. 30, 2025 – and she’ll have fun fun fun…

By on September 30th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Cool to start, warming later, hot before the day is done. But the overall trend is clear, Fall is here. Yesterday was beautiful. Fluffy clouds in a blue sky and not crazy hot. Pretty hot in the sun, but not crazy.

I did two pickups, and hit the Lowes store for some supplies. I needed more mortar mix and sand for my “fix the flagstone path in the front yard” project. I also looked at the trees and clearance plants. They have a lot of nice plants 1/2 off right now, including a couple of weeping willow trees. IDK how well they do in Texas, but I would like to find a spot for them at the BOL. I’ve always liked them.

Dinner was a new recipe for pork chops, more sour than our normal sweet marinade and sauce. It was OK. I don’t think I’ll make it again but it’s good to try new things. The cornbread muffins were from old mix (see yesterday’s comments) and were bad. The baked beans were really good though. I added sauteed onion and chunks of bacon, and then cooked it for an hour instead of just warming up the can. Chops were from ’23 and were frozen and vac packed. Nothing wrong with them at all.

Today I’ll do two pickups on the northwest side of town. I’ll also be working on the list, and probably doing some mortar work on the front walk. I’d like to take a load to the shop and clear more stuff out of the house.

You never know what you’ll find when you dig through the stacks. I found the radios I kept for my own use in a bin in my office yesterday. I was pretty sure that bin had at least one radio in it, but it took a while to get to it. Add “install a dual band radio in the truck” to the list. I’ll probably do it at the same time that I upgrade the stereo in the truck.

I’ve finally given in, and decided that I’ll change out the stock radio. I’ve got aftermarket radios with touch screens, and the upgraded version of the stock radio. I’ll have to think about it because I’m torn. The new radios have nice features, mp3 players, card slots/ USB, and big screens, but the stock radio has buttons and can be operated by touch. I don’t need the backup cam and GPS nav that the aftermarket radios offer, and I like the solidity of stock. Choices. Hmmm.

Radios in the truck aren’t a priority, but the list of stuff I need to do to the truck keeps increasing. I might just have to have a day of doing all the things…

The list never gets shorter. My patience, motivation, and free time get shorter every day. Nothin’ to be done but to do it, I guess.

Stack what you can. Learn. Connect. Thrive.
n

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Mon. Sept. 29, 2025 – plans, I got ’em.

By on September 29th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse, mainstream media

Cool and humid. Warming later, but not getting as hot as last week. I think Fall has finally started and the trend in temperature will be down overall. A couple of years ago I needed the Mr Heater while handing out Halloween candy. Last year it was warm. This year should be cool if the trend continues.

So I didn’t go to the BOL. I slept late, and my whole body core was stiff and sore, so I decided to stay and do stuff here. Mainly that meant working in the yard. Since it was just sitting there, mocking me, I took down the kids’ play structure. It was a big and expensive cedar thing, with swings, a small climbing wall, a second level, and originally a spiral slide, although that was removed a couple of years ago.

I’d painted it and replaced worn and rotted wood a few years back, but it was in poor condition. The thinner boards used for the roof and side walls were the worst, but anything that touched the ground was also damaged. Honestly it was no longer safe to use, although I had a heavy bag hanging where one of the swings used to be, and that was kinda useful. I’ll have to figure something out for the bag in the future.

Anyway, I cut and broke it apart, stacked the pieces for heavy trash pickup, and cleaned up most of the area. That led to trimming the trees along the back fence to keep them away from the utility lines. Which in turn meant another big pile for heavy trash. With better access to the fence, I decided it was time to install the anti-bird spikes. I’d purchased them some time ago and forgotten them, but I saw the box when I was moving stuff on the patio. I don’t care about the birds, everyone knows birds aren’t real, but I’m hoping to disrupt the wildlife that uses the top of the fence as a nighttime highway.

The possums in particular drive my dog NUTS when he catches them on the fence. Since they freeze when confronted, he’ll bark his half chihuahua head off and jump at them forever. NOT what I want at 3am. If they just kept moving, they’d be out of sight in minutes and away from the threat, but they aren’t smart. They freeze and he has a target for his outrage until someone comes with a stick and moves the possum along – forcefully. We’ll see if the pokey metal wire spikes deter the stinky beasts or not.

Today I have a couple of pickups to do. Small things, but some for the house and some for the BOL. I should be able to loop several pickups into one trip. Then I will continue making progress on stuff around the house. I’m not selling anywhere near what I need to, but I’m the little pebble that hopefully starts an avalanche. The mental logjam is still there, but it’s starting to break up.

If I can start getting rid of stuff, and get some money coming in, then I can do some of the prepping stuff I have been putting off, like the solar project. I can also do some of the many maintenance and remodeling things on the list. It’s a big list. But the journey of miles starts with a single step. Whether that’s picking up a few extra cans of food to start an emergency pantry, or buying night vision scopes for your zombie rifle, STARTING the journey is critical.

Start. Stack. Survive. Thrive.

nick

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Sun. Sept. 28, 2025 – might head out today

By on September 28th, 2025 in cooking/baking, culture, lakehouse, march to war

Cooler than it has been, then warming like usual. It was 66F when I went to bed, so I’m thinking it will start cool too. It certainly got warm in the sun, well into the 90sF yesterday afternoon. With the dampness, it was actually chilly last night.

I got stuff done during the day, but it wasn’t stuff that was high on my list. I mostly pressure washed stuff. Had to be done, in fact was overdue to be done, but it probably could have been put off some more. It was low involvement and fairly low effort though which suited my mood. I even took down most of the kids’ play structure before losing the daylight. That’s an end of an era.

I’m beginning to think that I need to actually start exercising in some real way. I’ve always added and lost muscle rapidly as needed, but I’m finding it easier to lose, and faster, than in the past. If I want to stay strong, I’m going to have to work at it, and I hate the idea of that. I’m thinking something like a bowflex, where I can do a 30 minute circuit, just to stay ahead of entropy. I’m open to suggestions and any first hand experience.

Today I’ll do some more domestic bliss and home stuff, but I’m also thinking about heading to the BOL. If I go, I’ll stay overnight and come home Monday night. I’ve got a load of stuff to take up, and I’m sure that entropy has had its messy fingers all over my stuff up there. Something needs attention, it always does.

With the cooling days, I might have switched to A/C in the garage just in time to need to switch back to heat… it’s been a weird weather year.

Maybe time for some Fall planting?

Planting is a prep, as the learning curve for growing food is steep.

Much easier and more reliable to stack. Probably best to do both.

nick

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Sat. Sept. 27, 2025 – starting at home, might head out

By on September 27th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse, march to war

Cooler than the last couple of weeks? It was 74F when I went to bed, so it’ll probably be low 70sF this morning, and get hotter throughout the day. Pretty boring weather for the last few weeks. Better than hurricanes I guess.

Did some office stuff and auction stuff in the morning. Took some stuff out of the house in the afternoon. Then did kid stuff until late. I tested several types of hearing protection last night. It was too loud in the stands and next to the band, so I brought my Walker in ear active noise reduction, my Axil in ear, and some passives that I didn’t get to.

The axil in ears are linked by a wire with two little control things on them. They were pretty much just like I remember, having them in sounds like not even wearing them, except that loud noises are reduced to the base level. They are very transparent sounding, but the lowest level of compensation is slightly too high for me. Ie. they are too loud.

The Walker Silencer ™ in ears are separate units for each ear, and are about the size of a sewing thimble. They are more muffled on the low setting, but you can raise the compensation until they sound transparent. They are VERY uncomfortable in my ears. The earpiece is dense foam in a cylindrical shape, and puts a lot of pressure on the inner canal. I wore them for the rest of the game, and I couldn’t wait to get them out. It takes some getting used to them when they cut the sound too. One ear would often trigger just before the other, which was noticeable. And the active noise suppression makes your ear feel ‘pressurized’ when it’s active.

Also, because loud noises (like the loud and overly enthusiastic mom behind me) trigger the reduction, you lose other sounds too, like my wife talking to me. In all, they don’t have swap-able differently sized earbuds, the noise suppression is not super sophisticated, and they are uncomfortable for me, but they do work on crowd noise and yelling. They do pair with blutooth, so you could link them to a phone or radio, although I’m not sure how the mic would work with blutooth.

Next time, I’m going to try changing the earbuds on the axil actives, and I’ll try two different passives. One designed for shooters, and one designed for ‘concertgoers.’

(Wife tried the ‘silicon loop’ passive ones widely marketed to concertgoers and sleepers. She’s happy with the size earbud she picked and their performance.)

People with normal hearing are probably ok in crowds where noise is in the mid 80 to mid 90s dB. With my existing losses, loud sounds can be painful, and I don’t want to lose any more, so I’m wearing ear pro.

———–
If I stay home today, I’ll be working the list. I’m making slow progress on several fronts, and I don’t want to lose what momentum I have.

I should go to the BOL. I’ve got a truckload of stuff to take up, and I’m sure the yard needs work. I also just don’t like it to sit empty for more than a couple of weeks.

But the easy choice is to stay home. (Both kids have activities this weekend, or we’d all be going up.)

Whatever I do, I’ll be stacking and working to improve.

nick

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Fri. Sept. 26, 2025 – who am I kidding?

By on September 26th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Same as yesterday, with less rain cloud? National forecast shows clear for Houston, so yeah, cool in the morning, warm later, hot to end the day. Same same.

So, did I get anything done? Well, yes I did. I got my pickups done. I got some stuff out of storage for a project my wife wants to do. I stopped by my auctioneer to see if I could get in line anytime soon (not yet.) I came home and we had leftovers for dinner. And the kid taxi stuff got done too.

Today I’ll be taking a load of stuff to the shop. I’m still on the fence about going to the BOL solo on Sat/Sun so IDK if I’ll load the truck for the trip or not. I have one pickup in my neighborhood. If it’s not too hot, I may spend some time organizing at the shop. I would like to get out of my last storage unit this weekend, if I don’t go to the BOL.

I don’t think I’ll have time to turn money into noise and smoke today. There is kid stuff to get ready for too, as D2 has a football game tonight and would like to see some parental support…
which is one reason I might not head out of town.

Time management has not been my strong suit this past few months.

And time keeps on slipping into the future.

Well, I’ll keep plugging away, and keep stacking too. That’s all I can do.

nick

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Thur. Sept. 25, 2025 – 092525 – who was that masked man?

By on September 25th, 2025 in open thread

Yeah, it’s gonna be around 76F this morning, and as humid as the swamp gets. Probably. And later it will get hot, and some parts of Houston will get rained on. Like yesterday. I’m glad it’s boring, and not hurricanes lined up, but it does make this opening segment kinda lame.

Like yesterday. Kinda lame. I did move some stuff around and do some more sorting and cleaning. I also feel like I’m getting the beginning of a scratchy throat, so I’m not ready to push hard. It’s so humid that even though it’s low 90sF, it’s draining to do any physical work. And it has been pretty much the same for months. That is a bit unusual and it’s certainly tedious.

Let’s see if I can go a paragraph without using ‘it’s’… or an ellipsis. FAIL! It’s so hard..

Kidding! I kid. Apparently the kids think the ellipsis is a boomer thing. So is capitalization and spelling, as far as I can tell, or at least it’s not their thing.

This interweb thing is changing us. Like MTV and the quick edit/jump cut, short form content is altering our brains. The “internet arguing style” is showing up in real life too. It’s not an improvement.

Today I hope to do more of the same– cleaning and organizing and moving stuff around. Also, I’ll do a couple of pickups. If I get all that out of the way, I might have time tomorrow for some noisy fun.

Staying current with all the tools is an important prep. So is stacking- both the tools and the time using them. Get some noisy fun time in before the month is over.

nick

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Wed. Sept. 24, 2025 – usually the title doesn’t mean anything

By on September 24th, 2025 in open thread

Somewhat cool? It was warmer yesterday morning, so it might be warm again today. And it will get warmer throughout the day. It did rain in various parts of town yesterday, although not much, and not for long. Lots of ugly clouds in the sky. Today should be the same.

I did a couple of pickups after doing some office work in the morning. Then I took some stuff to the shop, and moved stuff around at the house. I’m making slow progress cleaning up and getting stuff out of here. It just piles up elsewhere for now, but the goal is to get rid of it.

I did decide to move the laser engraver and all of the stuff for it to the shop. It would be convenient to have it set up here, but for safety issues, and noxious fume issues, not to mention the lack of somewhere to put it issues, it has to go somewhere else. The printers are still here for now. I am still holding out hope that one kid or the other will get interested in using them, or some of my other ‘maker’ stuff. So far it hasn’t happened. And it may be generational, as this generation seems to be content to do this much and no more.

It could be that they haven’t found that thing they would dive into yet, but we had all had a dozen hobbies and interests by now. I’d already built models, a model railroad layout, had slot cars, built a heathkit clock, torn apart a pile of electronics, tried to take my bike apart to make it go faster, and bought my first computer (TRS-80.)

When a buddy introduced me to the music of Led Zeppelin I had to hear all of it, same thing when I heard Jimi Hendrix, or later Kate Bush, or Rush. My kids, and the kids I see at school, are content to hear what they hear, and not pursue more. Their extreme risk aversion extends to learning new things or doing new things.

And that isn’t good.

———–
So I’ll keep doing what I can. Stacking what needs stacking, and learning what needs learning. Maybe teaching what needs to be taught…

nick

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Tues. Sept. 23, 2025 – daylight come and me want go home

By on September 23rd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Same same. More clouds today than yesterday and yesterday there were clouds. Some moisture from the sky even, depending on what part of town you were in. East side had a massive storm cell parked over it in the afternoon, and north of Houston had dark clouds with a spattering of rain. So, did it rain in Houston yesterday? Well, there was none at my house.

Picked up my solar panel, another 200w panel. $13 for this one, new in box. The round trip added some cost. Then I came home and went shopping. Soda is finally on sale again. Meat still is not. It’s been a really long time since pasta was on sale too now that I think about it. Got the kinder some ice cream but I’ve been abstaining for the last month. My gut feels better without it.

Store was completely out of Gold Bond Medicated Powder, original recipe. There was a spot for it, but no product in any size. Grr. I’m down to my last sprinkle and I’ll have to try the drugstore today. Normally I’d go to the OTC drug cabinet, but I must have raided that, or taken it to the BOL and not replaced it. Prepper fail.

Having to make a special trip takes time and effort. Might be easier to order from Amazon… and it would be if I wanted to wait several days. I’ll stop at CVS.

Today I need to do some pickups. I am limiting my buys and which auctions I’m buying from. I shouldn’t need to do a pickup every day. That’s where all my time was going.

And of course I’ll be working the list. At least with D1 driving, she’s doing most of the kid taxi stuff on Tuesday and Thursday. I don’t get to see the kids much though and that’s beginning to bug me. It’s the natural order of things, but still a bit sad.

I’m sure there is prepping to do, stuff to stack…so I better get busy.

nick

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Mon. Sept. 22, 2025 – yes, we have no bananas

By on September 22nd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Cool-ish, warming to hot. Because Houston. It got to 96F yesterday, and started warmer than the past several days. Then it rained and that cooled everything off a bit. Still was saturated though.

I got up far too early, dunno why, cooked my wife breakfast. Apparently there is this thing called “birthday week” where the birthday girl gets special treatment for the week, not just on the day. Who knew? I made an omelette. Saturday was a frittata. Of course there was bacon too.

Then I moved some stuff around and did some small jobs before deciding to finish the pressure washing and install my new 20ft flagpole. The rain came just as I was finishing that up. I poked at a few more small things after that. Dinner was a take and make meal from Costco. Those sou vide meals are cheaper than Burger King and a whole lot better, and they are very convenient. I usually freeze them until needed.

Today I’ll be working the list. I’ve got more stuff to move out of the house as part of the wife’s push to move stuff around. And I’ve got to do some ebay listing. Time to generate some cash, or at least start the process. I’ve got some outstanding invoices and other monies due me that I need to get on top of too.

And I’d like to take a load to auction. The scrap yard needs a visit too.

I’ve got prepping to do, mainly generator stuff, and I need to make some room to do it, and make some time. All while whittling away at the list.

Always be working. Always be stacking.

nick

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