Mon. July 14, 2025 – life is but a dream, shaboom shaboom

By on July 14th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

And…… another couple of days of mixed sun and storm. Yesterday had the same on again off again storming as cells moved through the area. Today will probably have them too. The national forecast shows it finally clearing over Texas on Tuesday. If it doesn’t rain too much, and it lowers the air temp, I’m ok with it. But the whole flash flood thing has got to end.

I got nothing done. Woke late, felt all out of sorts with some sort of weirdness in my head, so I did auction stuff all day, which mainly means sitting at my desk looking at listings. Ok, one load of domestic bliss happened. Not much else.

Today I’ve got one kid visiting with grandma, one at Girl Scout camp, and no reason to get out of bed except the huge to do list… Hmmm, how motivated will I actually be? Really I’ve got some auction pickups that have to happen Monday and Tuesday, so even if I really wanted to, I can’t blow off the day. Plus, I’m already behind. WAY behind. And if I stay in bed too long, my back hurts.

Poor poor pitiful me. 😛

I will get out of bed, and I will do some things. Maybe without any kid taxi demands I can do MORE than usual? We’ll see.

It is weird not having them in the house or due home later. “The future awaits you in an offworld colony…”

Now I’m just rambling. Get out and do something, meet someone, or learn something new. And stack.

nick

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Sun. July 13, 2025 – as the world turns… at least it’s not as the world burns…

Probably another day of mixed sun and thunderstorms. Yesterday had fewer big cells moving around but there were still a few, and I saw a few sprinkles hit my windshield as I drove around. It was 78F when I woke up, hit 101F in my driveway, and was 81F when I went to bed. We didn’t get the cooling rain we’ve been getting, but it was still a nice day.

I started with my non-prepping hobby, and while we didn’t have a full house, it was better attended than last month. Given the median age of our members, not seeing guys at a meeting always raises at least a little concern. After that I raced around and got three pickups done. Ended up having a long conversation with one of my auctioneers, who is fairly like-minded, and thinks that things will be getting ugly and changing completely in the world sooner, rather than later. And while I hadn’t planned to spend time talking with people, I think it was time well spent.

Today I’ll be sleeping in and then doing household stuff, and some other things around the house.

Fairly late last night I decided to sit out and have a tiny little fire while I read a book. Something drew my attention and I sat and thought for a short while.

I realized I’d spent my whole life getting to that point. A point where I could sit in front of my house (which is well stocked to meet almost any local or regional calamity), next to my water feature (which is also 50 gallons of easily filtered water), in my relatively safe and pretty quiet suburban neighborhood, reading a book written by some guy on the internet, delivered wirelessly to a mini computer screen I can hold in my hand, paid for seamlessly using a global system of banking and finance, while my family slept comfortably and securely in air conditioned comfort, clean and well fed.

I LIKE my life and the world I live in. I don’t want to lose it in the short term, no matter what wonders will come after the destruction. Civilizations come and go, world powers wax and wane- this is the natural way of things. No matter what happens, my children will live in a world that will probably be very different from this one, both in detail and in broad strokes.

My grandmother came to the US about the time that the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. She witnessed two world wars and the global conflicts spawned in the aftermath. She watched men set foot on the moon on a TV in her home, and had a grandchild who was a little wiz kid at the birth of the personal computer age. Telegrams and radio became black and white TV, then color TV, then the dawn of the Information Age. Her five children gave her 28 grand kids and a couple of times that number of great grands before she died. From Kitty Hawk to airliners, from telegrams to personal computers, the world changed around her, and because of her.

Change is the only constant. Empires rose and fell during her lifetime, wars were fought, distance and time were compressed by travel and telecommunications. Peoples’ personal awareness of the world expanded dramatically from their village to the the farthest corners of the globe.

Will my children and their children live in a world where their personal awareness extends to other planets, other star systems, or wholly created worlds? Will they be able to travel incredible distances in times that seem so short they might as well be magical? Will their minds and bodies expand to meet the challenges and changes of their time? Or will they be stuck on this mud ball, fighting to make a life in the ruins of our great civilization? Will my great-grandchildren find their own version of “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” standing in the desert, surrounded by nothing but wasteland, “boundless and bare”?

We are so close. And some days it seems like all anyone wants to do is burn it all down.

————
Prep like your life depends on it. The goal is to get through it and see what comes next. Stack.

nick

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Sat. July 12, 2025 – hobby enthusiast day

By on July 12th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

At least for me. And I expect to have thunderstorm cells moving through Houston, pummeling some people and ignoring others. Like yesterday and the previous weeks. I can’t remember weather quite like this in the last 20 years.

I had a frustrating day Friday. The weather clobbered me a couple of times, leading to slowdowns and wrecks on the highways. On a day with as much driving as I was supposed to have, that really blew my schedule. Fortunately, I didn’t wreck, although there was one near miss at a traffic light. Google maps put me right into several slowdowns, one lasting 20 minutes. I got out a book and read. The last one I should have ignored and gone my own way. I’ve tried to beat google’s directions many times, but only done it once or twice. Yesterday probably would have added a couple more wins for me. It couldn’t have been much worse.

The upshot is I couldn’t even try to get 3 of my pickups. I’ll shift one to Monday but the two at opposite ends of town will both have to happen today, after my hobby meeting. At least it’s good stuff.

This morning, I’m off to spend time in meatspace with my fellow hobbyists. Get out there and engage with the world around you. It’s a good counterbalance to the black pill online doom and gloom, and a good reality check.

Stack stuff too, of course…

nick

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Fri. July 11, 2025 – crazy that it’s already Friday

By on July 11th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

And still more of the same weather. We had a cell move through in the mid afternoon, and then we were back to sunny, but 10 degrees cooler. I’ll thinking more of that for today too.

I didn’t get stuff done. I took a pickup load to my new space (buddy’s old shop) but the power was out. All I could do was unload my truck, do some basic troubleshooting, and talk to the neighbor. I’ll have to do more poking around as no one has any idea why it might be out. It put a damper on my plan for the rest of the day.

Neighbor is an interesting guy. The company works as subcontractors for a couple of big internet infrastructure companies putting racks and power and connectivity in place, before the big bois fill their racks. You’d never know it in the little sh!tty commercial building we share, but their offices are very nice and their store room area is very well setup and organized. Very stealthy and much cheaper than the office/warehouse they were in before. Everyone needs to save a few bucks right now.

Today I’ve got some pickups I can’t put off any longer, taxi service for D2, and anything else that comes up. Some domestic bliss is sure to occur as well. Those clothes won’t fold themselves, ya know. A Costco run is in order too, if I can fit it in. Friday came very quickly this week.

I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting on Saturday which limits how much work I can do. I’ll be staying home and chipping at the list this weekend.

I’ll call it ‘working to improve my position’ and that’ll be the goal for the next couple of days.

There will be a bit of stacking too. Natch…

n

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Thur. July 10, 2025 – crazy people, crazy times

By on July 10th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, march to war

Another day of thunderstorm cells and rain keeping the temperature down, yesterday, today, and maybe even tomorrow too. It rained crazy hard in a lot of places around Houston yesterday, just like this whole week, and it will probably do the same today. It does make it harder to do pickups and move stuff with the pickup, if it can’t get wet.

So I did a couple of pickups with the expedition, then switched to the ranger for the bigger items. I got a nice short ladder, that I will be putting to good use. Some other stuff too.

Kid did another 1 1/2 hours of pressure washing. Still more to do, and she’s willing, as long as I’m paying, and it’s only an hour or two at a time. She managed to get herself covered in grime this time.

Today will be more of the same. Some auction, some fixing stuff, some cooking and cleaning, some pickup…

Some stacking too. Because it’s a good idea.

nick

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Wed. July 9, 2025 – pull the other one, it’s got bells on

Again with the hot and humid – tempered by rain storms. It’s getting to be a regular thing here. Yesterday was more of the same. At least the gully washers drop the temp for a while.

I took the kid to her orthodontist, did auction stuff, then a pickup while dodging T-storm cells, then home to get the kid on cleaning duty, then dinner, kid activity, kid retrieval, and all the other joys of domestic life.

Today will be similar. D1 to the airport, off to spend a week with grandma. Then some pickups while I’m in the area. Then home to get the other kid back in a cleaning mood…

And a trip to the store to get butter of all things. I’ve been pulling from stock to use some of the frozen butter, and not replacing it with regular Costco visits – since my visits to Costco are not regular anymore. Someone used the last of it and didn’t let me know, so when I went looking in the stacks for more, there was NONE. I can’t really believe it, but NONE. I will be rebuilding the butter stocks. Butter is like bacon, it is on the critical supplies list. I do have powdered butter as backup, but would prefer not to break the seal on the jar.

If you are like me and have been doing this a little while, maybe you are also like me and have gotten a bit complacent about preps. Twice now I got a little wakeup call. Only having 10 gallons of gas at the BOL was a surprise. Running out of butter at home was a shock.

Time to look at some stacks and be sure they are what I think they are.

nick

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Tues. July 8, 2025 – yeah, that seems legit…

By on July 8th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Another hot and humid day? Probably. Although it might be a bit cooler if it rains. It certainly won’t be dryer. Yesterday got cooling rain in the afternoon, and the morning, and the evening. There were periods of sun in between, and I’m sure your experience of the weather depended greatly on where you were in town. Kinda makes it hard to figure out what the weather and temperature for “Houston” might be, you know, for purposes of historical record and comparison over the long term…

I did auction stuff in the morning, and popped out for a pickup in the afternoon. Stopped at the HEB grocery store on my way home. Filled a cart, but didn’t buy much meat. Only 3 pounds of bacon (still 32c/oz) and about 8 pounds of hamburger. The burger was 80/20 but it was just less than $3/pound. That’s pretty good vs almost $5 last month. Sadly the only steaks on sale were ‘select’ grade and I can get prime or choice for about the same cost if I wait. I’ve got a freezer full in the mean time.

I did get a few things specifically to add to the stacks. I’ve got canned veg failing due to poor storage, so I’m starting to rotate some of that.

Oh, and as a data point, I had a plastic jug of whole milk in the fridge, sell by of May 16, unopened. It was fine. Tasted rich and creamy. It had been sealed and cold the whole time. Wife was not willing to drink it, pointed out it was less than $3, so I poured it out after my sample glass. We live surrounded by miracles and don’t ever notice.

Today I’ve got a couple of pickups, and the kid needs to see the orthodontist about breaking her retainer wire. It broke the day after they looked at it for the last time, and told us it would be her “permanent” wire. THE DAY AFTER. There will be an expensive scan and a custom build to replace it. That’s just thievery at this point. But the kids have beautiful straight teeth, which is sort of a base level expectation anymore. Least we could do to help them on their way…

Hurricane season is upon us. So is summer storm season. Time to check the stacks, do some small engine maintenance, increase on hand fuel supplies, and all the other things we do to prepare. I used 10 gallons of fuel at the BOL in the boat, so I’m out of generator fuel there. I’ll be re-supplying that on my next trip.

So much to do, and so many demands on my time. Stacking is the easiest part…

nick

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Mon. July 7, 2025 – high ho, high ho, it’s not to work I go…

Hot in Houston. Probably wet too. This year seems like it’s been really cool and really wet. The cool I’m ok with, the humidity, you just have to endure.

Started the day at the BOL. Did some messing around on the water with boats. Did some puttering and putting away. Poisoned ants. I don’t think the stuff I used works as well as the stuff I normally buy. We’ll see for sure when I get up there again, but I’m pretty sure the mounds I treated on Saturday were still alive on Sunday, and they should have been dead. I borrowed a different brand from my buddy, since I’d run out.

Made it home through a couple of storm cells. It’s been very localized storming in Houston. When a storm fills the whole watershed, it’s a much bigger problem.

Today I’ve got a couple of pickups. I might let D1 drive me around as more ‘check ride’ and time to teach. If she’s interested. If not, it’ll just be me.

I’ve got plenty of other things on my list too. I’ll get to that as I can.

And I need to go through my canned goods and find out what popped. Something stinks…

Stack more than you think you’ll need, and ‘breakage’ won’t be a big issue.

nick

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Sun. July 6, 2025 – about half way through another year

By on July 6th, 2025 in culture, lakehouse

Cool to start, then hot. Humid is a given. Although yesterday’s weather was a mixed bag, it ended well. Clear, cool, and everything covered in dew. Perfect weather for a fireworks show.

It was a long day, and I got stuff done. Not everything, and not completely done, but tasks were attempted, and some were completed. The others will continue on the list until they get done.

We even got out on the boat, but it’s not a huge lake and there were a LOT of people up here. We were going to take the kids tubing, or kneeboarding, but there was too much traffic, too many wakes, and the wind was howling. I didn’t feel comfortable and we came back in. We’ll try again today, as there should be a lot less traffic.

The day ended with our rescheduled fireworks show. It was half what we had last year, and was still 35 minutes long. The only difference from a full professional show was that the fireworks don’t fly as high, but even that line was blurred by a few of the rockets. Did I mention the show is put on by two guys? This year one was out of town, so it’s basically one neighborhood guy… and it’s great. Lots of other people had fireworks too, some pretty good. Not many guns being shot into the air, that’s more of a city thing.

Today I’ll be unloading and putting stuff away, as well as putting stuff away that we brought up on previous trips. I might have to do some re-organization of the shed and garage first, so actual work might be limited. It was crazy hot for a while yesterday, and I won’t work as hard today if it’s that hot. I almost hurt myself, and I don’t want to risk it.

We’ll also take down all the bunting and flags we put up for the 4th, and get out on the water with the boat for a while. Unless it’s raining, we promised the kids.

Stacking up some good times, as well as supplies. Get you some of that!

nick

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Sat. July 5, 2025 – the day the hard work really started

By on July 5th, 2025 in culture, lakehouse

Cool to start, but warming all the way to hot, if I am guessing right. I just hope for clear and dry. Well, as dry as this part of Texas can be. Last night’s fireworks got rained out but rescheduled for tonight if it’s not raining in the afternoon and evening. Fingers crossed.

Yesterday was a mixed bag. No big celebration, but I did get the lawn mostly mowed. Not completely mowed, and I didn’t get the fire ants poisoned, but it should only take a short while to finish today. Also got the boat ready for the water, but then the battery was dead. Replaced the battery and it started right up, so if the weather is nice, we’ll take the boat out and try out the towed inflatable and maybe the wakeboard.

The evening had me making and eating dinner.

A pretty good family day, all considered, especially when other families are not whole and never will be again. Disasters happen. Some you can prep for, some you can’t.

Most of them, stacks will help. All of them, having people who love you and who you love will help.

nick

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