Month: May 2023

Sun. May 21, 2023 – two one hump camels humping.

Slightly cooler, maybe some rain, maybe.   Yesterday was nice.  Hot, sunny, but nice compared to Hell or Cincinnati.  Didn’t do any work in the attic though, I’m not a mad dog, or Englishman.

Did do some stuff around the house.   Not as much as I’d hoped.   Had some interruptions that knocked me off track and limited what I was willing to start.   Did get the coffee machine fixed, so that will leave the kitchen and go to the ebay pile.  Now to do the same with the other, bigger one.

D1 has a birthday sometime in this last week or next, so we’re going to do some birthday activities today, while her friends are available.   With the school year ending this week, and the start of summer activities, there won’t be much time to get all of them in one place.  There is a bunch of stuff for her sitting around until her birthday party and getting that cleared up will help with the stuff in the house too.

I forgot to mention my trip to the grocery store on Friday.   Lots of gaps on the shelves.  One thing they were out of is the eye drops I use.   I’ve got more in the stacks but like to replace what I use when I use it.  I don’t have to try to find a new supply right away if I have them on the shelf.   That’s why we prep.   I also didn’t see as many discount coupons, and the stuff I bought wasn’t on sale.   I saved only about 2.5% vs my normal 10-12% by using store coupons and closeout discounts.   If this turns into a trend, we’re in even bigger trouble.

This past week I spent a lot on eating out, and prepared meals.  Normally I try to cook most nights but between school stuff and general malaise, I wasn’t able or wasn’t willing to cook dinner.   The difference in cost is getting to be quite large.   I’ve started pulling back by preference but if this keeps up, we’ll NEED to pull back.   Since we are in good shape, I can’t imagine what people less well off or well prepared are faced with.   IDK if they are continuing to spend out of habit, and eating up savings or going into debt, or if they are faced with pulling way back, and suddenly (like the lady I mentioned previously that had to choose a hamburger helper meal for the first time).   For most people I think there comes a point where it suddenly and undeniably comes to their attention, and they HAVE to make big changes, or go broke.   What are you guys seeing?  Are you cutting spending?  Is it out of prudence or need?

It’s late to start stacking, because costs have gone up and choices are down.   With that, I’m tempted to start eating down my stacks to save money, but for what and when?   I still think it is a good idea to be building up reserves and the time to be using them is yet to come.   So keep stacking, when and what you can, and let me know when  you think the time is right to start using what you are setting aside.

 

nick

 

oh yeah, the title.  Second to last time I was up at the BOL, I really didn’t expect to see camels mating.   But I did. And yeah, it really is as awkward as you think it must be.

 

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Sat. May 20, 2023 – finally a day without obligations… so I get to do my own

Cooler but warming later.  Some chance of rain.   Maybe clear later.   Yesterday was nice and hot, sunny too.   D1 had a good time at the beach.

I was looking for a safety monitor to watch out for me in the attic at my client’s place.   It was REALLY hot in the attic.   Fortunately I did all the hard and sweaty crawling around last time.  All I had to do was enter, and connect cabling.  Still, last time I measured the attic temps in summer, I got 142F iirc.   I might take a thermometer back with me on Monday or Tues. just to see.   In any case it was dangerously hot.

I didn’t get any one thing done over there either.   Got the camera rebooted.   Tried adding the new cam, but firmware and OS on the NVR were too old.   I’m replacing it all next week anyway so I didn’t update anything.   Did some maintenance on the ubiquiti Cloud Key appliance that works as a manager and dashboard for the system.   Didn’t update any firmware in the system either, as I didn’t have time to recover if anything broke.  Did get new hardware added.

Got the NanoStation 5AC loco added, and configured as an access point.  I confirmed there is signal at the gate opener and keypad.   If I have to, I can add the other one, a switch at the gate, and config it all as a wire replacement.   More gear, more time, more effort, so I’m hoping that I’ve done enough with wifi coverage.  I couldn’t quite finish, as I needed to locate a PoE injector in the attic, and I didn’t have what I needed with me to plug everything in.  I’ll bring that back next week and finish that.

And I got the control gear installed, the piece I had to wait most of a year to find on ebay as normal channels are dry.   It’s configured but not complete as the controls programmer hasn’t done his part yet.  He wants me there when he connects and sets it up.  I’ll need to test it in any case.

So a lot got done, but nothing got done.

Today I should be doing more cleaning, and taking stuff out of the house and to storage.  It’s piling up while waiting for an auctioneer, but it needs to be out of the foyer and living room.  I’ve been doing other stuff, and making the piles higher as I organized.   If it isn’t raining, today is the day that organizing will bear fruit as the stuff goes away.

Oh, all the normal weekly domestic bliss needs to happen too.   Joy.

It’s a great life, if you don’t falter.

Stack something, even if it’s a small stack.

nick

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Fri. May 19, 2023 – It’s a cruel, crazy, beautiful world… {it’s your world so live in it}

Cool, maybe raining.   Hope not, because it’s D1’s school beach day…   I hope it’s like yesterday, which got hot and sunny, before finally cooling off with some big fat rain drops after dark.  I guess we’ll see.

Did my errands yesterday, interrupted and bracketed by school events.   6th grade honors in the morning, 8th grade in the evening.  Oh, and an eye exam for D2 in the afternoon.  Some days, the more I have to do, the more I get done, some days it’s the opposite.

I did a bit of social study during the school stuff.   What did the teachers value for their teacher’s choice awards?  (quiet, tries hard, uses all the resources available, kind, helpful)   Why were girls featured at about a 3:1 or more ratio in all the pix and video?  (they might actually outnumber the boys)  Why if so?  (no sports might mean boys self select to not attend this school)  30% of 8th graders were taking dance classes.  Only one was male.  Salud and valedictorians were all girls.  3rd year for one of the girls.   Couple kids had three years of straight As, 95% or better As at that.  Pretty much everyone in the school would have been on the honor roll in a regular district school, so they made the honor roll harder, and made another level above that too.   Interesting stuff.

Saw a couple of parents I haven’t seen in a while, since we didn’t do swim team with them last year.  Our pool’s team was a great crossroads for several neighborhood groups.  In theory, we’re doing swim team this year, but D2 isn’t going to enough practices, so I don’t think it will happen.  I miss seeing some of the other dads at practices and meets.  It would be nice to see them again.

Today I’m trying to head to my client’s place.  At least do some work.   No kid stuff with afternoon appointments on the calendar.  I usually spend the afternoon there, and into the evening when my client comes home and we meet.  He’s out of town though, so I should be able to ‘down tools’ and head home at a decent time.  We’ll see.  Hope to get some stuff done.

And maybe stack some greenbacks.   They are as much a prep as anything, and I’ve been using stacks to buy some needful things lately.  Need to replenish what got used.

Stack some resources.  They always come in handy.

n

 

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Thur. May 18, 2023 – where once again our hero fails to do stuff, while doing other stuff

Cooler, but still damp.   Rain later?  Dunno.  And neither does anyone else!  But we pretend because it gives us a feeling of control.   I do think we might get a smattering.   We’re in the zone for it nationally.   I never saw any moisture from the sky yesterday, but the clouds around here suggested that someone in Houston did.  I just had a nice day, shirtsleeves weather, with some clouds but mostly blue sky.   And I drove all the way across Houston to Baytown, so I really saw both sides of town too.  Didn’t get too far south or too far north, which is where the weather really changes.

I did one pickup on the east side.  Then I dropped some stuff at my secondary location, and stopped by my selling auctioneer.   He still can’t take more of my stuff.   I really might have to try another seller again to move some of it.

I ordered stuff for  my client’s place.  Besides the point to point wireless ethernet link, he pulled the trigger on a new network video recorder for the cams.  It won’t be in until some time next week but I’ll head to the house on Friday to do the P to P link and get ready for the NVR.   I was going today, but have kid stuff in the early afternoon that would cut short my work time.

I’ve still got a list of stuff to do around the house this week, as the week rapidly disappears into the past.    I feel like Paula Abdul this week.*

So today I have some pickups south of town that I have to get a jump on early.   Not too early, as they don’t even open until 10am, but earlier than my normal ‘leave the house at 1 or 2 pm.’   Until then it’s auction stuff, cleanup and put away, and maybe a maintenance item if I’m really motivated.  Need to do the ‘small’ grocery trip too.

Yep, I’m a slacker.   Been slack.  Am slack, will be slack.

That doesn’t mean YOU can’t stack some stuff…

nick

*ah, the 80s https://youtu.be/xweiQukBM_k?t=49

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Wed. May 17, 2023 – Not much for ‘hump’ day, but today is giving me the hump

Warm and damp transitioning to hot and damp, with a touch of rain… not unlike yesterday.   The rain held off until the kids were back from the beach, but then  it came and got everything wet.

I got  a few things done during the day.  Slept in my chair most of the evening.   Made pork chops for dinner.   Tasty pork.   Kid had brownies in the oven when I got home, so I put the chops in too.   The brownies are what pulled the plug on my consciousness after dinner.

Today I’ve got local stuff, and I might try to get to my client’s place.   He can’t see one of  the cams remotely, and I can start getting some of the upgrades installed.   I think the cam is probably lightning damage.   I have one that appears to be too.   We’ve had quite the big storms this week.

I’ll be ‘fluid’ today, trying to get the most out of the day, while still doing the kid stuff that is on the calendar.  Can I keep the plates spinning?????

Stack something,

nick

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Tues. May 16, 2023 – stuff and nonsense

Humid and warm, chance of more rain.   Sun came out yesterday and it got HOT…  like summertime hot…  so I think Spring has sprung, and Summer is here.   Just a bit earlier than usual, perhaps.

Didn’t do much yesterday, despite the sunshine.   Spent the morning doing auction stuff, spent the afternoon on the same, and waiting for D2.   She had an eye appointment, but missed it.   Forgot to come home, if you can believe it.  Rescheduled.

Dinner out had more impact on the wallet than I expected.   The prices were higher.   Still get a lot of food, but prices definitely increased.   Which is what we expect due to real inflation being somewhere around 30%.   I just thought they would hold the line a bit longer.

Today has ‘drive around and pickup things’ written all over it.  Then I’ll stack things.

Stack some of your own.

nick

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Mon. May 15, 2023 – half way thru another month, still ok…

Warm and wet.   Damp and overcast for a while, then maybe some sun?  Just guessing, but that’s all the weather liars do.   They think they know, but not really, and especially not for Houston.  After all, the day finally cleared and  the sun came out in the late afternoon yesterday.

Did some cleanup and housework.   Made a nice dinner for Mother’s Day.   Watched movies as a family.   A good day.

Today I’ve got to kick @ss on some cleaning and organizing, if the rain stays away.   If not, it’s more piddlefarting around with maybe some pickups thrown in.   This week is looking like it’ll be pretty busy, with prepping for D1’s birthday, swim team, and all the normal things.  Plus I might have to make a quick trip to the BOL to meet with the septic guy.  All the rain has an alarm on the system activating, and I might need to get with him to resolve whatever is going on.  This weekend was the second time it’s tripped.  Time to figure out what the issue is.

School year is winding down for the kids.  Lots of testing, then a beach trip, then make work to run out the clock on the year…  I can’t believe it’s already summer.

I am glad for the time, as lately I am finding issues, gaps, and failures in my preps.   I was doing pretty well, but time and loss of focus took their toll.   Now I’m playing catchup again.  This is not where I want to be, so I better get busy changing it.

If you aren’t where you want to be, YOU better get busy too.  No one knows the what or when but we can be certain that there will be something.  It’ll be better to meet it with a stack of preps.   So get stacking.

 

nick

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Sun. May 14, 2023 – Mother’s Day (US)

A bit cooler, but still wet.  Forecast is for more rain, possible storms…  but still just on the edge of any serious weather.   Like yesterday.  Just wet enough to keep me inside most of the day.

Did my swapmeet/sale/non-prepping hobby meeting.   Good turnout, maybe double our normal?  And a couple of new club members from last month came back for more.  It’s hard to grow a club.   The ham magazine is full of advice, which tells me most clubs aren’t growing and don’t know what to do about it.   Attrition is a factor in most of the clubs I’m interested in.  Tempus fugit, momento mori, and all that.   No one gets out alive.   It’s nice to share an enthusiasm with other people.  We are social creatures after all.   It’s also important to mix with people outside your normal day to day groups, so you can get a wider picture of what is going on in the world.

After the meeting I mostly piddlefarted around  the house.   Domestic bliss- cleaning and laundry, cooking dinner, etc… and auction stuff.  I did do a bit of tech.  I found a ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M2 I’d removed from service and decided to see if it was recoverable to use at the BOL.   It wasn’t.  Deader than a  dead parrot.  I opened it up and looked at the board, but didn’t find any smoke releasing components.   Lightning killed it, and left no trace.   So I ordered a pair of new Nanostation M5s.   We’ll see how they work.

Today is Mother’s Day, so I will be working on that all day.  I think we’ll be cooking a beef ribeye roast, potatoes, asparagus, and homemade bread for dinner.   I hope the one I had in the freezer is big enough.   Dang kids are eating me out of house and home.

It used to be the case, don’t know if it still is, that Mother’s Day had the heaviest call volume of any day of the year.   Don’t let it pass unused.

Stack something, use something from your stacks.  Say Hi to Mom, if you still can.

 

nick

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Sat. May 13, 2023 – Friday the 13th falls on a Saturday this month…

Warm and damp.   Sun came out and it got hot yesterday and I see no reason that can’t happen again today.  National forecast has us on the edge of some bad stuff, but that’s just par for the course.

Yesterday ended up nice.   Overcast to start, but sunny in the afternoon.   I spent the morning working on auction stuff, mainly vintage audio gear, then went to do my pickup.   Hit the goodwill bins, since I was right there.   Got two pairs of expensive vintage cowboy boots as the main score.  Got a campstove toast rack too!   Now I can burn bread over a Coleman stove.   Lots of DVDs too.  It’s hard to believe that there are still DVDs I want but don’t have.

Stopped by my storage unit and got some stuff for my non-prepping hobby club meeting today.  I hope some stuff sells.   It would be nice to not bring it all home.  There are days when it feels like the joke about the two antique dealers alone on a deserted island.  One is having a ‘going out of business’ sale, the other is buying up ‘inventory’…   It’s always fun to spend time with people who enjoy the same stuff you do, even if they aren’t buying.

So that’s how I’m spending the morning, amongst fellow enthusiasts.   I’ll spend the afternoon doing house stuff, or auction stuff.   There’s always more to do.

Hopefully I’ll be stacking up a little money today.  Nothing else is likely to be added to the piles.  YOU should stack something though.  Water treatment or food, your choice this week 😉

 

nick

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Fri. May 12, 2023 – my brain is stuffed full of trivia

Warm.  Damp.  Maybe wet.   We had overcast with the threat of rain all day, until late afternoon when the sun actually came out.   ‘Course it was hot and humid.   I expect more of the same today.

Spent the day doing sorting and cleaning.   I’m making a little progress on some of the piles around the house.  Not much mind you, but some.   I had some things to say over at Aesop’s place  https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2023/05/facial-recognition-psa.html and at Peter’s https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-power-grid-is-looking-increasingly.html

Today I have a couple of things to get- two pickups, and some stuff in storage that I want to take to my swapmeet/sale.  I’d also like to do some shipping.  I’ve got stuff that has been sitting here waiting to ship to my mom since Christmas, and some stuff for a friend that has been here even longer.  Finally shipping it would get it to people that can use it, and get it out of here.

I took 3 bankers boxes full of dvds that I’d ripped to store at my secondary location along with some other stuff when I had the wife’s minivan.   I’ve still got several boxes of dvds and CDs to rip.   It really goes surprisingly fast when you just keep loading a new one every time one finishes.  If I’m sitting at my desk I can get a dozen done in a day.  If I’m doing CDs, they go a lot faster.  I can get a couple dozen ripped in between ripping DVDs.  They are much more accessible when ripped to a server.


The school year is drawing to a close.   The kids are doing their mandatory testing.  In theory I like the idea of consistent testing.   You can’t measure what you don’t test.   Yes, you do get ‘teaching to the test’ but if the test is well designed, and encompasses the whole requirement for each grade, isn’t that what you want?  No time for flights of fancy or indoctrination, if they are busy teaching what will be tested.  Of course, the tests are NOT well designed to test a comprehensive and appropriate grade level worth of learning.   The format pretty much boils it all down to a reading comprehension test at its base.   If they can’t understand the question, they can’t answer it.  And there is a lot of specific stuff that is ‘surplus to requirements.’   The learning is specific, wide, and shallow.  Not a lot of foundation, and it’s very glib for lack of a better word.  It’s better than a lot of places, most even, if half of what I read online is true.

Education is a prep for the future.  Learning how to learn is the best prep of all.  Make sure your kids/grandkids are actually learning something.

And keep learning yourself.   It will keep you sharp, and might save you time, money, or even your life.

 

Stack it up.

nick

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