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Category: decline and fall

Sat. Sept. 7, 2024 – I wonder if I could train a bot to be me?

Then I could post in 2124… but would it be worth reading?

Cooler all day, and overcast, with the possibility of rain. The national map has us on the edge, and that usually means, no rain. We’ll see. It was off and on light misty drizzle yesterday, which kept temps down. Only 78F in the driveway… and 82F driving around. Nice.

Did some driving around to get the kids where they needed to be. Spent some time on auctions. Even did some repairs, sorting, and putting away. I need to make some changes to my office, but don’t know what to do yet. I’d like to find room for a turntable so I could listen to some of the vinyl I’ve been picking up lately. Don’t know if that is possible without giving up too much room for my other interests.

Today I’m sleeping in. At some point, I might take oldest to the gub store to see what they have in the case. Something like a full frame 22 would be a good choice for her to keep working on some target stuff, and building some good habits. Plus, it’s been a while since I saw my buddy and his wife. Later I have an auction pickup in Conroe. I might pay the guy to bring it to Houston, or I might make the run up there because I don’t want to wait. It’s for my non-prepping hobby…

Life goes on and the wheel turns. Gotta keep moving. Stack something, learn something, spend some time with someone.

nick

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Fri. Sept. 6, 2024 – Friday so soon? Well, we did miss Monday…

Cool and wet. OR Hot and wet. Won’t know until we get there. But yesterday was overcast and cool almost all day, and actually cool once the rain started. Some cool would be nice.

Spent the day at home. Had to take the kid to the orthodontist, then school. The other kid stayed home sick. And the plumber came to do the gas line for the whole house gennie. Yep, the one that has been sitting there for years.

It lives! Started right up too. Now I’ve got some electrical to do, a battery to buy, and some sound absorption stuff to install. It will be nice to have finally made progress on that project. Honestly don’t know why it’s taken so long, but part of it was biting the bullet on the expense. Part of it was “just do it.”

Cooking a nice brisket for dinner rounded out the day.

Today should be domestic bliss, and some auction stuff. I’ve got one pickup to do, maybe two. I need to talk with the auctioneer that’s been selling for me and get that going again. I need to move some stuff to storage, and look to see what electrical stuff I’ve got stored deep at the secondary location. It would be nice to get some other stuff done too. The week flew by.

Like they are wont to do.

So stack what you can while you can. Make a little progress every day. Like the rapidly vanishing year, you’ll be amazed what the little steps add up to.

nick

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Thur. Sept. 5, 2024 – Progress, of a sort…

Cooler, and wetter, and that’s nice for a change. The overcast kept the heat down yesterday, and the rain helped too. IDK if the same will happen today or not, but then nobody else does either… so yeah, cooler and wetter. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Did some auction stuff in the morning. Met with the plumber about the gas line for the whole house gennie. Did some pickups. Hit Costco for TP and some other stuff, mainly snacks for school lunches. Made dinner and stacked some meat for the freezer…

Today D2 has an orthodontist appointment first thing, then I’ll meet the plumber, if it’s not pouring down rain. Getting gas to the gennie is definitely progress. Then it’s up to me to get some temporary electrical stuff done. I can do that, I even think I have the cables and connectors at my secondary in deep storage. Might take a bit of digging to get to that though.

Finally some real prepping. Meat for the freezer. Work on the gennie…

And all the domestic bliss too.

Take the time while you can.

And stack.

nick

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Wed. Sept. 4, 2024 – so much catching up to do

Cooler, and maybe less sun today. Yesterday’s threatened rain never did come, but the temps stayed down as the sun stayed away. Today should be similar.

After a slow start to the morning, my afternoon flew by. Auction stuff. Then kid chauffeuring for two hours. Then grocery shopping, into dinner, etc… Not many bargains at the grocery store.

Today I’ve got a meeting with a generator guy about doing the gas hookup. Then I’ve got a couple of pickups. That should eat most of my day.

In between I might be able to grab a thing or two off the list.

Or not. The beginning of school is always a bit chaotic and crowded.

Kinda like life.

Get what ducks you have in a row… and stack.

nick

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Tues. Sept. 3, 2024 – Well, waddayano… Monday comes on a Tuesday this week

And it’ll be hot. Maybe not brain boiling hot, but still hot. And humid. ‘Cuz that’s how we roll in the Bayou City. Like yesterday. That was hot too, although slightly less hot than previous days.

I got up fairly early yesterday and started knocking out some little jobs. I replaced the door switch in the beverage fridge so the light comes on when you open the door. The old switch stuck. I hung a couple of speakers and made a plan to get wires to them on the dock. Wife has been pushing for this- let the stereo wars begin… I measured for insulation to close the previously flooded walls in the dockhouse. I unloaded the vehicles and mostly put stuff away. I even installed a screen door on the garage man door. It’s a retracting screen so it will only be in the way when we’re actually using it. Yes this paragraph IS all about me.

Other tasks were attempted too. I burned the last of the slash pile on the old but still quite toasty coals. This despite the rain… Then W put the coals out with lakewater. Much steaminess ensued. Items were put away where they belong. Books were shelved, although most were not, as the shelves were still waiting for stain and finish… and on my way out, I dropped off a few things for my buddy.

They were not large or difficult or even high priority items from the list, but they did need to be done eventually and they were low effort and low engagement, which was about all I felt up to doing. Because it was HOT AND HUMID.

Baby steps are still steps.

The same can be said for preparedness. Once you have the big stuff out of the way, it’s all small stuff. Or you could say that even doing small stuff helps you prep… because no matter how little you do, it’s still more than a vast majority will do.

So get out there and stack. Bag some low hanging fruit this week. You’ll be glad you did, and it might jump start more serious efforts.

nick

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Mon. Sept. 2, 2024 – Labor Day

Forecast is for cloudy, cooler, and 60% chance of rain. I’m guessing we won’t get much though. Yesterday was overcast with occasional showers most of the day, but sunny later. It got cool for a while at night, but the breeze died and it was warm again. Texas.

Didn’t actually get much done. I took an ‘off’ day and mostly read and hung around the house. Best laid plans and all that.

So today we’ll see what we can do. One thing I did check was the moisture level in the walls that got flooded. They are back to ambient and match the studs that didn’t flood, so I can plan to close those walls back in. That should give me some projects. 😛

I took yesterday off so I’ll labor today.

Always be working. And stacking.

Enjoy the day.

nick

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Sun. Sept. 1, 2024 – time waits for no man…

It has been cooler. Mid 80s during the day in the shade, with a nice breeze. Humidity is still high, and when the sun is shining down, it will bake your brain. I was fine on the mower, and in the shade, but in the afternoon, I managed to get overheated and had to take a break.

I spent a couple of hours mowing. The grass wasn’t crazy long, but there were spots with decent growth. We’ve had enough rain up here that the grass is green and long.

After that, I did some smaller projects and mostly unloaded the truck.

Dinner from the freezers was tilapia on the grill, frozen biscuits, and fresh veg. Despite pounding electrolyte drinks all day, I was still behind when I went to bed. Gotta watch myself.

Still, got most of the slash piles burned, and had s’mores with D2 in the evening over the coals.

Today will be more of the project list. Maybe I’ll even get in the water later, once the sun is behind some clouds.

Stack some good memories. We’ll need them.

nick

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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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