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Month: August 2024

Sat. Aug. 31, 2024 – hope it doesn’t rain…

It’ll still be hot and humid, but less so than Houston. Some chance of rain. It was a few degrees cooler up here last night than Houston, even chilly with the dampness. Nice change.

Spent Friday driving around, doing pickups, then errands. Got some stuff at Lowe’s to do projects up here. Ant killer too. Went to the chiropractor and got gas. $2.89/gallon. Picked my Ranger up from the shop. I’ve got new tie rod ends and the steering is better. Found some more damage to the control arms but I don’t think I’ll spend the money. Tires are cheaper…

Today I’ll start by cutting the grass, and knocking out a couple of small projects. Unloading both vehicles and putting stuff away will be a priority too. The rest will depend on weather. Too hot, or too wet, are both job stoppers.

One thing that won’t take too long is to check the moisture content of the walls in the dock house. If they are back to normal, I’ll make a list of what I need to close them back up. The meter was on clearance at Lowe’s so I finally bought one. It will be helpful to actually know the moisture content of the 2 x 4s instead of guessing that it’s “fine.”

I’ve got some projects that are indoors, and I’ll poke at them if I have too.

There is always more to do.

Like prepping, you can always do more, learn more, and stack more…

nick

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Fri. Aug. 30, 2024 – another week gone, still got stuff to do…

A bit cooler. And wetter. And still humid, but less so. Scattered showers yesterday with occasional localized thunderstorm cells… so some places in Houston and surrounds got hammered. Some didn’t. Some got it twice. Today should be similar.

I did my pickup. Missed two that I’ll have to get today, as well as two more. That should keep me busy this morning. I ran out of time because I was dealing with my truck issues. Did the stuff that had to be done, put off the stuff I could. Kinda the story of my life, actually.

So today I’ll do some pickups, then some shopping if I have time. I need some stuff from Lowe’s to finish a project or two at the BOL. Later in the day I am supposed to pickup my pickup, and then load up for the BOL. Wife and D2 hope to leave before traffic gets bad, and I would like to too. Dunno if I’ll manage it. I’ve got one pickup that is in the wrong direction, and will take longer than I’d like. I originally thought I’d be able to get it on the way out of town but the truck repairs changed that. I’ll be lucky to hit the road before dark if I’m being realistic.

It’s always something. Still, I spent a couple hours listening to music from South Africa last night while I was reading, and at least we aren’t there yet. ‘One Man, One Vote’ by Johnny Clegg struck a chord … as did ‘Sufferin’ in the Land’ by Jimmy Cliff…

I managed to catch part of Jimmy Cliff’s set at the summer street festival in San Diego back in 1993, good times.

Civilization was nice while it lasted.

Stack. Prep. Upskill.

nick

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Thur. Aug. 29, 2024 – time flies… and any landing you walk away from is a good landing.

Supposed to be a chance of rain again today, and slightly cooler temperatures. Yesterday ended up in the high 80s, low 90s, but it stayed cool for a while. There was spotty rain, depending on where you were, but I barely got any here at home.

I didn’t have a very productive day. I fell asleep in the chair after breakfast and that set me back all day. Later I spent some time looking for sneakers to replace the pairs I’m wearing out, and did an online order with in store pickup later in the day. I also ordered a couple of things I needed around the house. Sanded and mudded the ceiling repairs in the bathroom and kitchen. They should have been done a long time ago, but I never wanted to make the mess. A quick sand and they will be ready for paint, and no longer on my list.

Got the kid from school, hit the chiropractor, picked up my shoes, came home and cut the grass. That was kinda productive… One trick, I like to wear shorts when it’s hot, but cutting the grass with the string trimmer is very painful in shorts. I bought a pair of MMA foam shin guards in the auction, and I wear those now to run the string trimmer. I’ve got a pair at the BOL, and one here. Legs stay cool, but almost all of the chips and bits get stopped by the shin guards instead of my shins. It might look silly but I don’t care. No more bloody shins.

Today will be more home work, mostly putting stuff away, and a couple of auction pickups. The shady guy finally has the last three auctions ready for me to pick up, I’ve got a couple of lots at another auction, and a third local auction to pick up later in the day. I only have a couple of lots at each of them, but I do need to get them picked up.

I’ll need to sort out what I’m taking up to the BOL this weekend too. OH, and taking the pickup to the mechanic because the alignment is off… just a little but they supposedly did the alignment after changing the shocks, so I’m miffed that it isn’t right. Of course I really need the truck for the next day, and then all weekend. Grrr. Not pleased. Not at all.

Still trying to improve my readiness. Still stacking. Got lots to do.

nick

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Wed. Aug. 28, 2024 – Month is winding down, but the work piles up

Slightly cooler, with a chance of rain. Or more realistically, rain for sure in some part of Houston, but not necessarily all of Houston. Yesterday’s rain followed me all over town. Sunny here, pouring down t-storm there… The streets flood, then the bayous flood, then it’s all gone.

I did my pickups, and only got a little bit wet. Truck is pulling slightly to the right so I’ll have to take it back in. The shady auctioneer was open, and handing out winning lots, but had paused live auctions (essentially skipped one) to give the warehouse a chance to catch up with pulling orders. That’s their story anyway. One disappointment was a lot that was supposed to be a 250w solar panel, but turned out to be a tiny, charge=your=phone sized panel. Got that refunded. Did my kid driving duty. Made crock pot carnitas for dinner. Great way to use cheap pork shoulder.

Today will be focused on stuff here at the house. I’ve still got sale stuff to put away, and the pile that is going to the BOL needs to be gone through and re-stacked. There are other tasks I’ve been putting off too, but we’ll see what the weather turns out to be.

I’ll either be working inside or out, but I’m sure to be working.

Always be working to improve your position. And stack while you can.

n

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Tues. Aug. 27, 2024 – well, I was asking for rain…

And maybe we’ll get it. We got plenty yesterday, but we got it all in a short time. That is how I like it, followed by cooler weather, and a bit less humidity. We are supposed to maybe get rain and cooler temps. I guess we’ll see.

Yesterday was nibbled by ducks. Kids and wife out the door. Finish clearing trailer and return. Hit the Goodwill since it is right there. Home for lunch. Pick up kid from school. Call the auto repair guy. OH, yeah, you can pickup anytime, but the battery isn’t holding a charge. Ok, I’ll come by and swap it at Costco. Proceed to do so. None in stock. Get gas. Head to the OTHER Costco where it is showing in stock. Do the swap, $70 back on 2.5 yo battery, grab new one, head back to repair shop. Head home to meet the wife for a ride BACK to the repair shop. Pay and head home…

Oy.

Today will involve a couple of pickups, kid rides, and a Dr visit. Maybe I’ll get something done in between. It’s a good life if you don’t falter…

But it doesn’t leave much time for stacking. Find some time…

nick

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Mon. Aug. 26, 2024 – now I can do all the things I’ve been putting off…

Slightly less hot, and small chance of rain, which is a nice change from ‘normal’. Even yesterday was slightly less humid, you could see that the air was clearer than it has been. Any change to “less” is a good change.

I finished up my hobby thing. Show floor was very dead Sunday. It’s always challenging to keep some exhibitors from leaving early, but this was a crazy number that left. Added to having fewer exhibitors to start with and Sunday was DEAD. I had some sales though, about $225, on Sunday. Lots of smalls, and really tiny margins, but I did move stuff. The big items didn’t budge.

Talking with others there, they sold some things, but the excitement was missing. One guy said it was because people were ‘scared’. They are worried about war and violence and the economy failing. He new about the new ammunition factory and about the new chip fabs, and their importance if war breaks out. Everyone mentioned inflation.

It was another data point, another reality check for me. A broad cross-section of folks, all with the same concerns.

An ill wind is blowing, and lots of folks have their finger in the air, trying to take its measure.

After I got everything packed and we cleaned out the venue, I came home and fell asleep for a couple hours. W and the Ds woke me when they got home. They had a good time with friends at the lake. Then I took the trailer and unloaded at my storage unit. Decided to put it all there, instead of putting some at the secondary location. I unloaded the rest back at home.

Today I’ll return the trailer, and hopefully my ranger will be ready for pickup. Once I get that sorted, I can get back to normal stuff here at the Casa De Nick. I’ll probably do an auction pickup too.

Lots to do, lots to stack, and no one knows how much time left. Get busy.

nick

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Sun. Aug. 25, 2024 – last day of my hobby thing…

And it will still be a hot one. Because yesterday was, and it’s still Summer in Houston. There might be a little relief from the humidity though. When I got home yesterday a little bit of localized rain had cleared some of the humidity and it was almost nice out in the evening.

Got my ice and got to the venue on time. Set up the tables and spent the next 9 hour talking to people an trying to sell them stuff. It was tough. The mood on the floor was very subdued compared to previous years. I was selling $3, $5, and the occasional $10 or $20 item, and not doing much in the way of combined sales. Things got better before lunch and when the general admission started, and I sold more higher priced items and more combinations.

By 230pm the crowd started to thin, and several vendors packed up their tables. It felt very late in the day, and by the end of the day even more people had packed up early. Not good.

People I chatted with all blamed the economy, and everyone was very aware of price inflation for groceries.

We’ll see how today shapes up. Sunday has always been a slower day, and one that some vendors skip. I hope it isn’t a ghost town today.

So I’m off to do my thing, and then pack up and head home later.

I’ve talked to a LOT of people and gotten a feel for the lay of the land, which is always useful.

And I’m feeling like I should redouble my prepping efforts. It’s getting worse, but stacks will help.

nick

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Sat. Aug. 24, 2024 – 08242024 – second day of my hobby thing…

And it’s still hot and humid. Really, I know! Hard to believe. But that’s the facts Jack.

Fortunately for our load in and set up, the hotel had the air on in the ballroom/convention space. Because it was hella hot.

Did my volunteer obligations then got my stuff set up. I brought a LOT of stuff, and hope to sell more. I haven’t sold much though, and the best stuff went cheaper than I’d have liked. Sold is good though. I’ve covered the cost of my tables and rental trailer. I hope to make some actual money today.

I’ve got an early start today. I need to restock my coolers with drinks and ice. There is a very convenient ice maker stand on the way, and it only adds a couple of minutes to my trip, so it’s not a burden and I get a lot of gratitude and recognition. Then we’ll open the doors at 8 and we’re off to the races. I hope. It was slow and kinda dull yesterday.

The best part of the show is talking to the other attendees and exhibitors. There is a pretty broad cross section of the US, but skewing heavily toward small business owners of course. I don’t hear a lot of pro Democrat chatter, and I do hear a fair amount of pro Trump. That could be because of Texas, or because any progressives or liberals might self censor in the face of real or imaginary persecution. It is hard to be a small business owner without a grasp of economics and an understanding of .gov and .gov regulation…

I better get moving. I need to turn some inventory back into cash, and use the money for other things…

Like stacking !

nick

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Fri. Aug. 23, 2024 – first day of my hobby get together…

And it will still be hot. And it will still be humid. Weather? We’ve got both kinds.

It was crazy hot again yesterday. It’s not the absolute temperature that is the problem, it’s the combination with crazy high humidity and lack of breeze. And it was hot.

Did my running around and errands but it was 800pm by the time I was done, except for finishing the trailer load. That went for another couple of hours as I sorted and pulled stuff from my office. Having to wash out two coolers, and replace the hinges on one added some time. I’ve got a lot of cooler repair parts, as they are cheap and I buy used coolers, or find them on the street. Hinges take almost no time, clasps, retaining straps, and even drain plugs are easy. If you’ve got the parts at hand, it’s simple to fix the things when they need fixing. That’s pretty much true for most things.

I’m actually preferring the enclosed trailer to the Ranger. I don’t have to worry about rain, or security. So it’s working out. The cost of the fixes for the Ranger, and the additional rental for the trailer will kinda suck, but that’s life too.

While I was out doing my errands, we apparently lost power for about 1/2 hour. Centerpoint says it was due to “a safety hazard prevention”. That sounds like a tree trimmer made a mistake. There was some localized thunder, and even some spatter of drops, but not on me and it didn’t seem like it was in our neighborhood, so not likely to be weather related, even without the weird turn of phrase from Centerpoint.

Today I’ll head to the hotel to help with set up and then load in. Eventually I’ll set up my own tables, and then we’ll open the floor. Commenting will be thin as I’m going to be busy all day. You’ll have to talk amongst yourselves.

And if you find yourself with some spare moments, say a prayer for Barbara’s swift and complete recovery. She says she’s doing fine, but a sudden and unexpected heart attack is never a good thing.

Stack too, if you can.

nick

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Thur. Aug. 22, 2024 – so much to do today…

And it’s another scorcher. All my delaying tactics have failed, and I’ll be digging in storage units in the heat after all. LOTS OF HEAT. And lots of humidity.

Spent yesterday doing domestic bliss, and trying to get my truck diagnosed. I did get two pickups in, and gathered some more stuff for my non-prepping hobby sale. Not enough though.

So today I’ll be trying to pickup a trailer, fixing or diagnosing my renter’s A/C issues, hitting three storage places looking for stuff I put away last year or the year before, and gathering it all to the house. THEN I’ll start loading the trailer, make sure the powerpoint lappy goes online and updates, and gather the last of the stuff. Oh, and I’ll be buying drinks and ice for the setup crew. Ice will be Friday, but I need the gatoraid, water, and Dr Pepper, and I’ll need to clean a couple of coolers.

Suddenly lots to do. Lots on top of the stuff I already knew about. Gah. I should have hit the gathering harder when I had the truck available. Just bad luck to break down now.

You can prep, but bad luck can still make it harder. In this case, having money for the truck repairs, and having the alternative truck and a rental trailer available will save the day.

I hope.

stack-a while you can, monkey boy.

nick

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