Category: decline and fall

And it will be crazy hot and crazy humid if nothing changes. That just makes everything so much more miserable. I don’t know when the weather will break, probably next month, but it will be welcome. We never did get a drop of rain yesterday.

I did small stuff, mostly indoors. I alternated a bit. Moved some stuff in from the truck, did some computer work. Hung a new camera, did some cleaning. Hung another camera, did more computer work. Sweat was dripping off my just standing still.

One of the small things I did was replace the light bulb in my pole light in the front yard. Now it’s lit up like daylight out there, at least on the cameras.

Today I’ll see if I can swap out another cam. It’s on the roof though, so if it’s too hot, I won’t climb up. My shoes damage the shingles when they’re too hot…

And I’ve to lots of other stuff to do, including a grocery run, and or Costco run. It’s time to start getting serious about getting my stuff together for my non-prepping hobby conference/swap meet/antique show/convention… I need to dig in my storage units, my secondary location, my office, and various other places where stuff might be stashed. And I’ve got all the normal things to do, as well as my volunteer duties for the show.

Gonna be busy.

But I’ll get some stacking done too. Because that’s what I do.

n

And they will be hot and humid days. Like Friday was. Hot AND humid. Weather? We’ve got both kinds… and today will be similar, if it doesn’t rain.

I did my stuff yesterday. Drove around picking up things. I scored a nice lappy for little money, so I’ve got to crack that and get it in shape. I also need to unload and sort the load from yesterday and Thursday. One of the lots I won is an adjustable stand for a refrigerator. I can wait a few more days and pick it up, or I can build a new platform for my new fridge to sit on in the garage. That, and moving stuff to clear a path are the reason my new fridge is still in the driveway. I think I’ll work on other stuff and wait, although it wouldn’t take long to make the platform (which raises the fridge a bit, making it easier to get to the bottom drawer and deep in the back of the shelves, and also matches the height of the freezer next to it, making it easier to store stuff like paper products on top of the freezers.)

It’s a minor tweak, but it made a big difference for the last couple of years, just in terms of convenience. I didn’t know they made something to do the job, but it showed up in the auctions just like magic.

There are millions of things I can work on, and some of them might even get done. First though, I’m getting a bit of extra sleep.

And I’ll be stacking stuff, since that’s what I do…

nick

More heat and humidity. I’m ready to start cooling down. Hot with rain day before yesterday, hot with sun yesterday, and hot today.

I did my running around yesterday afternoon, then did my kid duties, and hit the store for soda and snacks. Other than pork shoulder, nothing good on sale, so my bill was high and my savings were low.

One of the errands was a scrap run. I had the broken Samsung washing machine on the truck, and I had some scrap stacked in the driveway. I took some copper pipe, some brass plumbing, a scooter, and some old lead batteries. Got about $55. Copper and brass are paying ok, mixed or shred steel, not so much. Lead is much less than it was two years ago. Scrap prices tend to go up or down with the health of the economy. I’d say it’s ‘middling’ right now.

Burned a steak for dinner. I was busy mashing turnips and left the steak on the grill 2 minutes too long. It was still edible and tasty but there was a little too much “taste of the grill”.

Today I’ve got another couple of pickups. I’ll get the kids out of the house, then get started. I’ve also got all the other stuff from the list, and getting ready for my show in about 10 days.

It’s a busy time with school starting back up, and all the other stuff going on. All I have to do is not falter…

Stack. And then stack some more.
n

Hot and humid, but maybe a little less of both since we got some rain yesterday… depending on where you are in town, maybe a LOT of rain…but probably not. It’ll probably hot and humid.

I did manage a couple of pickups yesterday, in the Expedition, which filled it to the roof. I had to take the Expy because the Ranger died while I was unloading it. Idling fine, then a hiccup, then another, then died. I tried a little gas, keeping the RPMs up, but the same thing happened. Then I tried to go to the end of the block and back, which, after dying and restarting, went ok.

Air, fuel, spark. Hmmm. I did put half a can of gas in at the BOL before coming home… but no way that was bad. Spark. Got some, probably got enough. But the terminals were loose on the battery and there was corrosion. I cleaned that up and tightened everything, which seemed to help. Then I decided to check ‘air’.

Filter was distorted and misfit in the box, and it was FILTHY. I can’t believe they didn’t even look at it during my service and inspection, with all the other prodding they did. With the filter out, the truck ran smoothly.

I stopped and bought a good K&N filter and bulbs for the license plate on my way home from the pickups. I’ll install it today and see if the problem goes away. I’m very disconcerted when my mostly very dependable truck has issues.

Given the downpour, I’m glad I had everything inside the Expy, so it worked out, but if the filter and tightened battery terminals don’t solve the issue with the Ranger, I’ll be back to ‘upset’. 21 years old, but only 154K miles…

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Today is the kids’ first day back to school. It is really early by my standards and it seems to get earlier every year. Kids are excited to go back and see their friends. I’m not looking forward to the early start to the day, but maybe I need the kickstart.

And our daily schedule will now revolve around the needs of the school district and not our own lives. I should be used to that by now, but I’m not.

I will have more time to myself during the day, but that time will be shortened by afterschool activities I’m sure.

Oh well. I’ll adapt. I’m the stay at home dad after all. It’s my job.

That and prepping for the future. Which I mainly do by stacking. You can too!

nick

Hot and humid, but maybe some rain, and maybe a bit cooler? Who knows? Not the weather liars. Not me. It will be what it is.

Kinda like the national and international stage. Anything can happen, but only some things are likely. No one knows, even the people who think they are in control, what will happen. That’s a bit concerning.

Yesterday was auction in the morning and kid stuff in the afternoon. Then I didn’t feel super, so I read. Not a productive day. I have got to pull me head out.

Maybe today. I’ve got pickups to do and no kid obligations in the afternoon. Once I’m moving it is easier to keep moving. There is mental and emotional inertia too. Overcoming that takes some effort, but once moving I can use it to my advantage. That’s one of the reasons I like to have all the stuff for a project in one place, so I can strike while the iron is hot…

The first thing I’ll need to do is load some scrap and take it and the old washing machine to the scrapper. If I don’t, it’ll be in the back of the pickup truck and in the way for my auction pickups. It’ll be good to clear some of the scrap out of the driveway too. I’ve been ‘stockpiling’ it. Hope it’s not too humid to work outside today. Or raining.

In any case, I’ll be working to improve my situation, and stacking some stuff. And that is good.

nick