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Month: July 2020

Fri. July 31, 2020 – more than half way through the year

Hot and humid, maybe some rain.

Yesterday was hot.  Humid too, although less than previous.  Stuff actually dried in the driveway.

As expected I spend all afternoon driving around doing pickups.  I did get preps as well as home decor…  some web gear, some airsoft and BB stuff, some knives…

I bid on a bunch of ammo last night but it all went for more than I was willing to pay.   It wasn’t crazy, but it was more than Ammoseek listings.  Oddly, Foodsaver bags and rolls sold for pretty much retail, or maybe a bit higher.  Didn’t think they were in short supply.

One of my pickups also sells surplus and salvage direct to the public.  It’s mostly clothes, but there is always some food.  I grabbed 11 bottles (8oz) of pure USA and Canadian maple syrup for $1 each.  Also 9 pounds of ground coffee for $1 /lb.  I’ll count that as a score.  We eat a lot of maple syrup.

Daughter’s room is finally done.  We have to hang a couple more pictures when she decides, but the big stuff is all in place.  Not counting the bed and rug, pretty much everything else came from an auction over the last year.

We’ll be doing something to update Daughter 2’s room soon I’m sure.

The kids, especially the younger one, are showing the strain of not seeing their friends in person, and of staying home.  Changing their rooms up is an attempt to give them something new to focus on, and to change things up a bit.  My wife has also booked us a rental in Galveston for a couple of days in a week or so.  The change of scenery should do everyone good.  The kids will get some beach and swim time in too.

The whole week was eaten up by auction stuff and some minor work in the garage.  Wife is happy though and ‘that ain’t nuthin’…

Today I’ve got another pickup in the afternoon, and I’ll do some more in the garage.  I’m hoping to see my buddy at the gun store, just to touch base.  Maybe it’s time to sell my very expensive safe queen…

I’m sure something else will jump up and demand my attention and time.

I really need to get some stuff done.  Stuff isn’t going to stack itself…

 

nick

 

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Thur. July 30, 2020 – lots to do today

Hot and humid, chance of rain.

And I’m gonna be out driving around most of the afternoon.

Yesterday I didn’t leave the house.  It rained pretty good all morning, which kept me from making any drop offs.  I did get some stuff done in the garage, mainly shelves and getting my work areas back together.  I put my 2 ft cube light box ($5 auction special) out there, and moved electrical strips, fans, worklights, and small wall mount shelves around.  Still a long way to go, but it feels like progress.

I also spent about a half hour or more listening to my ham lunch buddies on their weekly net.  They’re all doing a net on 2m rather than getting together for lunch.  I can’t talk with them because I can’t hit the repeater from my house with my current antenna/radio combo.  I’ve got antennas for my ‘big’ radio, but haven’t put them up mainly because I have the quad band mobile for 2m and 70cm.  If I get the big radio hooked to an appropriate antenna, I can pump 100 watts at the problem.  That should work…  my other choice is a directional antenna for 2m on my mobile.  Either way, not happening this week.  (I’m in the radio shadow of a new office tower that is taller than the repeater antenna, and right between me and the repeater.)

Speaking of rain, more should be headed our way as the next tropical storm is headed up Florida.  Busy season so far.   Being prepped up for wuflu has gotten me a big jump on hurricane preps, so I’ll give it that.

And I’ll keep working on replacing what little we’ve used from our long term stacks…because it isn’t going to get better for a long time.

 

nick

 

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Wed. July 29, 2020 – Halfway to more of the same

Hot and wet.

Not only was it super humid and warm yesterday, it rained too.    I managed to unload my auction delivery just as the drops started falling.   Did my pickups and headed home.

Spent most of the rest of the day indoors, except that I cleaned the pool, and cut the grass in the back yard.  It was soggy, but I figured I better get it done before it rains again.  I picked up the dog bombs and 3 bags of inedible pecans too.  I got a tiny bit of organization done in the garage.

Today I’m hoping to get another truckload of stuff to my other auctioneer.  It’ll depend on his schedule and weather.  More garage work and driveway org too, if the weather is good.

I linked to a couple of videos yesterday.  One shows the results of shooting a suspect TWICE with an AR.  It’s not the instant magic wand of death in every case.  If you aren’t training for follow up shots, you’re probably not doing it right.

The situation in Portland continues to escalate with the rioters now attempting to blind cops with lasers, spray them with bleach (blinding), and they are building bombs to lob at them too.  It’s WAY beyond throwing a pack of firecrackers…  Anarchists throwing bombs.  In 2020.  Everything old is new again.

And it’s spreading.  Tempe AZ had riots.  (home of Arizona State University, but otherwise a smallish town on the edge of Phoenix)  BLM and a laundry list of groups were blocking streets and harassing cops.  I don’t know what the demographics look like now, but when I was there I don’t think there were 10 blacks in the whole city.  But they’ve got riots now.  FFS.

Avoid crowds.  Go armed all the time.  Get some less than lethal for your vehicles.  Check the news to see what’s going on in town before you drive through something you didn’t know about.  Review your state’s use of force laws regarding riots, and attempts to enter your vehicle.  Don’t stop moving.

The economic and social effects are going to make the shutdown look like a walk in the park.  They’re already starting and won’t be getting better for some time.  Stock up while you can.

Got enough fire extinguishers?  After that one year where I was first on the scene at a half dozen wrecks and fires, I’ve now got several in each truck.  I’ve got one next to the kitchen, and one in my master bath.  Big ones.  More than one in the garage, by the door out.  Change the batteries or test your smoke detectors if you haven’t lately.  Change the detectors if they are a few years old.  Add a couple outside the bedrooms, inside the bedrooms, in the hall.  If you close a door at night, put one on each side of the door.  They are small and the new ones last years on a single non-removable battery.

Preps aren’t all freeze dried food and ammo…

Although you should stack those too.

nick

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Tues. July 28, 2020 – same stuff, different day

Hot and humid.  Maybe less than the past few days as the storm system might have gifted us some cooler winds.

Certainly miserable yesterday.  Not as hot but saturated.  Made working outside a chore.

Got some stuff done.  Got the front yard mowed before the rain.  Back yard was still too wet.  Got the truck loaded with stuff for my more ‘industrial’ auctioneer.  I’ve got to go by my secondary location and load up some more this morning, and get it all to him around 9am.  Early start for me.

While I’m there I’ll do a pickup at the other nearby auctioneer, and try to jump the line on the other other auctioneer and pick up the stuff for my daughter’s room.  I don’t want to wait until Thursday to do that, but I forgot to make an appointment.  Wuflu means appointments and curbside pickup.

It feels like I got more done than that.  Oh, I did move some stuff around in the garage.  That’s ongoing.  I’m moving stuff into the garage that really shouldn’t get wet, and moving stuff out that is much lower value or hardier.  I still cover it outside, but water gets into everything eventually.

So that’s my day, go get rid of some stuff, go get some stuff, get home to watch the kids while the wife does a site visit for work, and do some stuff around the house.  The only prepping I’m doing today is the pickup, which has some web gear, and that’s only good if it comes to a shooting war.  Which I sincerely hope it does not.

Still, it is stacking, and getting rid of stuff generates cash and happiness in my wife, which is not a small thing.

Join me won’t you?  Stack something today.

nick

 

BTW, anyone else notice that with all the wuflu and the shooting and rioting that Epstein’s procurer and Joe Biden are both out of the day to day news cycle?  Coincidence?

 

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Mon. July 27, 2020 -a new week, filled with the old st……..

Hot and humid, but maybe we’ll get a little break from the really bad stuff.  That would be nice.

Yesterday after running my errands, I spend a couple of hours in the garage.  It was drizzling, and much cooler than it has been.  I got the freezers lined up so all the doors open fully.  I moved some drawers over 3 inches to make room for another cabinet.  Moved some extension cords and powerstrips around.  I’m about 80% back to normal in the garage now.  Well, the new normal with the rearrangements.  Normal in the sense that stuff is in there, and I can get to it.

Finished my laundry and restocked the kitchen and baths.    House is a shambles.  My wife’s been busy with work and then started getting our tax stuff in order for our accountant.  Kids have been slacking off on chores while we’ve both been otherwise occupied.  Add me redoing the garage, and my wife redoing daughter 1’s bedroom and you’ve got a mess.

I’m hoping that we don’t have any more rain today so I can get a load down to my auctioneer.  I have to use the pickup, and the stuff can’t get wet, so I need the rain to hold off.  Tuesday or Wednesday, I’m already supposed to get a different load to my other auctioneer, so I don’t want to push any of the deliveries.  (Each auctioneer has typical stuff they sell, so I’m matching stuff to seller, hoping to get better buyers and higher prices.)

I need to get rid of the stuff that won’t help us, and make room for more things that will.

‘Cuz I’m seeing escalation everywhere I look.   And that isn’t going to end well.

So keep stacking whatever you’re short on.  Practice some shooting skills this week, or learn some comm skills.  Clean your guns.  Organize the freezer and the pantry shelves.  Change batteries in devices.  Buy a sturdy pair of boots and some work gloves.  Go through your webbing and make sure you don’t need to sew anything.  So much to do.  So little time in the day.

nick

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Sun. July 26, 2020 – supposed to be a day of rest, right?

Hot but maybe not as much, humid, well, Houston….

Yesterday cooled off considerably after the rain bands came through.

I did an auction pickup, spent a bunch of time in front of the computer bidding on things, and made a run to my secondary location.  I’ve got a dumpster I can use there, and I had some trash that I didn’t want to have around until the next heavy trash pickup here.

Laundry and chores around the house ate the rest of the day.

It was funny to realize, as I drove through the flooded streets on my way home, that I didn’t even CARE that there was a hurricane coming ashore today.   I looked over the yard to make sure there weren’t a lot of loose things laying around, and that everything that needed to stay dry was under cover, but that’s about it.   When you’re already living your preps you don’t have to do much extra.

I’m doing another pickup today, more furniture for the house.  I was ready to cut back on auctions, but it sure is convenient and the universe is dropping the stuff I need/want in my lap, so I’m not going to complain too much.

Rifle parts, tactical gear, camping stuff, freezers, pools and bikes, workout gear,  and a variety of other things, from cleaners and disinfectants to toilet paper and cases of twinkies have all been in auctions here the last few weeks.  Actual guns have all been expensive, but there have been a variety in the estate auctions.  I’m trying to be judicious, but… in the secondary market you buy it when you see it.

I’m afraid that the primary markets are headed that way too, if it’s in stock you better grab it.  I hope it doesn’t get as bad as the soviets, where you’d buy shoes in whatever size was available and then try to trade.

Suppose someone starts sniping amazon Prime semis on the freeways?  or Consolidated Grocers?  Suppose it catches on as a “thing”…

I put links to a couple of ‘protest’ related incidents in the comments late yesterday.  PLEASE actually go and look at the pictures and video.  It’s one thing to see a story about this being the 57th day of rioting in Portland, it’s quite something else to see the pictures.  Same for the shootings involving vehicles.  Learn what you can from the unfortunate experiences of others.

It might not be the wuflu that keeps you home, it might be the violence on the streets.

Have you got enough?

Keep stacking, don’t let this catch you unprepared.

 

n

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Sat. July 25, 2020 – so tired and still stuff to do

Hot and humid, storms on the way.

Yesterday stayed pretty darn hot until late in the day.  Here at the house they got a huge rainstorm, but it didn’t last and the humidity dropped enough that the streets dried off.  I was south east and east, and I missed all but a smattering of the rain.  Traffic was very light for Friday at 4pm.

I did get a couple of things done, but really, not much.  Today I’ll be running around and picking up stuff for the house.  Did I mention that my wife figured out I can buy stuff for her and the house?? I think I might have mentioned it…

It lets me buy preps too, so I should quit b!tching, even in fun.

Speaking of which, 37.5 pounds of metal and chemistry is headed my way.  Still more in stock according to the email I got…   If you have a commie rifle, you can still feed it, if you haven’t already stocked up.   Everyone thinks they have enough guns-until the zombies come….

More likely we’ll be short food and meds, but hey, you can’t keep either if you can’t defend yourself.   Although I think the best tool might be a small tool with a suppressor.  Even a big tool with a suppressor is better than no suppressor.  IDK if there is any chance of getting your stamp under the current conditions, but you might want to consider it.   I have and wish I’d started the process.  I’d probably have one today if I had just taken that first step.

Which brings us to the heart of prepping.  TAKE THE STEP.  Whether that is stacking stuff, taking some classes, or getting out and meeting some new people, do it.   Get ready to take that ham licensing test.  Get those gunsmithing dvds.  Order something with a long lead time.  Take the step.  Start the journey.

 

Keep stacking.

nick

 

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Fri. July 24, 2020 – Friday again.

Hot and humid.

Yesterday was hot.  Humid.  Hot.  105F in my driveway.

I didn’t make much progress on my list, as I was out all afternoon.  I did pick up the fridge/freezer, and a bunch of stuff that I needed for my forklift, and if things ever get back to “normal”.   Chain and load binders are crazy expensive for what they are so I got some cheap.  Might just be wasted if I never have to move the forklift again.  On the other hand, this can’t go on forever.

I did get a bunch of meat broken down, vac sealed, and into the new freezer.  I’m checking temps several times a day now.  Freaking thing has me paranoid.

I got a couple of small projects inside the house done, and one part way done.  It’s time to cut the grass again and with the rain, it really needs it.   The week flew by.

I also took a little bit and shot the airsoft, the co2 bb gun, and the classic kids red rider bb rifle.  With the airsoft I was working standing unsupported snap shots, both hands.  With the bb pistol, I doubled my distance and shot for accuracy, supported strong hand, and with the little rifle, I was just shooting for fun, but I did double my distance.  I think I’m going to make a target with tin cans hanging from a board instead of sitting on one.   They won’t get knocked off and need resetting,  but they’ll still move and “ping” when hit.  I’ve been shooting at a windchime in the driveway from inside the garage every so often, and it gave me the idea.  It’ll look like some kind of hillbilly trash sculpture!

In all seriousness, shooting the bb and airsoft every day is starting to feel really good.  Go, shoot something!

And keep stacking.  Before you know it, Fall will be here.

nick

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Thur. July 23, 2020 – “I fell in love with her ______ ______”

Hot and raining, at some point today.  Hot now.

Yesterday was both too…

I did my auction pickup, and arranged for my auction drop off next Monday.  That’s a delay in when I wanted to get the stuff out of my place, but it works better for the auctioneer.  I’ve got more auction pickups today.  One of them is another fridge, that can be set so that top and bottom can be either fridge or freezer.  Pretty cool.  Might flip it.  Might keep it.  Haven’t decided.  Seems a bit like overkill.  But since there is no such thing*… I must be wrong.

Hurricane season is (maybe) offering us a glimpse of the future.  Gaylord or Gaspacho, or Gazprom, or something anyway is headed right for us.  Supposed to just be a warm up storm.  Just a bit of a reminder to replenish any supplies used up during the lockdown and top up the preps for the season.  Just a warm up, the real storms are yet to come.

Random thought, I miss having a calendar blotter on my desk.  I’ve got a couple of sheets of paper that I jot notes on, but I just realized that what I really want is the blotter I used to have.   I miss my old paper schedulers too.  I used to go through them every couple of years and remind myself what I accomplished.  Just moving the birthdays and anniversaries to the next year’s book forced a review of the year.  I spent some time going through my dad’s day books when I cleared out his desk.  I really don’t think anyone will be sifting through my google calendar to get a feel for the beginning of my marriage, or the first few vacations with my wife and kids.  I can’t imagine them sifting through terabytes of files named like img0056-2020-09-21-1941.jpg either.  Most likely none of it will even be readable.

Meanwhile, the march to war continues under the radar, until the smoke from burning espionage darkens the horizon.  THEN it seems sudden and reckless.   We see only the fin, rarely the shark, sometimes only the ripples in the water.  Sometimes we only feel the pressure wave as it passes by.  And sometimes, you’re bleeding out from your stump.  Bad times are coming.  Moderately bad times are already here.

Start building up your reserves.  Of what?  Everything.  Patience and stamina most of all.

Keep stacking.

 

nick

* Maxim 37. There is no ‘overkill.’ There is only ‘open fire’ and ‘I need to reload.’

 

Oh yeah, the title.  A song lyric I can’t get out of my head.  It probably isn’t what you think, but points to the first one to nail it…

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Wed. July 22, 2020 – some days I’m my own worst enemy

Hot and wet.  No, there is no joke about my likes or dislikes there, definitely not.  Nope.  Definitely not.

Yesterday was actually not so bad, on the roasted by the sun, steamed by the swamp scale.  It was actually cool most of the morning and only slightly hot in the afternoon.  So was I slaving away in my garage and driveway?  No, I was not.  SHOULD I have been?  Yes.  Yes I should have been.

Got stuff done, just not what I’d set for myself.  I did finally deliver an ebay item sold back in February.   Nice guy.  Moving from Oceanside in  Cali to Lake Conroe.  Plans to spend the rest of his days there.   Now I’ve got an open spot on a shelf, better fill it with something.  OH, I just picked up another pair of vintage speakers?  WTH is wrong with me?  They are selling though, so there is that.  Not much else is.

And so, I set myself up for today’s tasks.   Work, freezer, work, pickups, freezer, garage, maybe put the half a squirrel in the trash, cook dinner… or I could combine some of those tasks.  Hmm.  Which ones?

It is the zombie apocalypse and we all need to learn new skills, right?

Speaking of selling, this is the time when you get out those cheap steel cased rounds, and the $324 PSA AR-15s and sell sell sell………   remember the ones you bought just so you could flip them when prices went up?  But now you don’t WANT to sell them.  You figure you might need them at some point.  YOU were smart and got them cheap and stocked up, so now you’re covered, and why would you sell when there aren’t any replacements?  What if things go pear shaped?  Then you’ll wish you had the black rifles and not the worthless fiat bux…….. Or is it just me?

Ammo Depot had 762 in stock and shipping yesterday morning.  They still had some late last night.  It was roughly 27c/rd.   They are showing some 223, at roughly $1/rd unless you want steel jacket, and even that is 40c/rd.  Score one for the commie gun in the black rifle internet flame wars.  Zombie apocalypse lite happens and your barbie gun goes hungry but your re-shaped shovel from krapistan is still affordable…  Don’t delay, order some today…

No idea why my brain is where it’s at, but there is still time to stock up on some things.   Body armor might be a smart choice, if you’ve got everything else taken care of…

No matter what it is, you probably don’t have enough if things really go sideways.

Keep stacking.

 

nick

 

(did I mention I tipped the AAA service guy with a few N95 masks?  It felt…. very strange.  The world is changing around us.)

 

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