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Category: decline and fall

Fri. Aug. 9, 2024 – if I were a rich man, all day long I’d biddy biddy bum..

Hot and humid. Sounding like a broken record here, but it’s what it is. Summer in Houston is still going strong. It must have been a bit less humid yesterday, because it didn’t feel quite as miserable and it was still hot. I’ll take it as a small mercy.

Did some errands and running around yesterday. Mostly it was stuff for D1, but I did some pickups too. And got my toll tag sorted out. The system, and the clerk, didn’t really believe I had two vehicles with the same license plates. Radio operator plates for the win in the “confuse the bureaucrats” category. The supervisor knew what to do, just like the license plate office but the frontline clerks didn’t. Hey, I gave them something interesting to do for a few minutes. I’m a rockstar.

Today I’ve got a couple more things to pick up. A bunch more actually but it’s just a couple of stops. I got another solar inverter, and some stuff for my upcoming hobby show/sale. Some other stuff for the house and the BOL too. Several things for the “water filtration and purification” long term project will be added to the stacks. And there were a couple of things that I think I can easily sell to fund some of these purchases. It’s a big pile of stuff, and I really need to start putting some of it to use.

Who knows? I might actually make a little progress on some stuff, if I short change the other stuff enough…

Anyway, busy day today adding to the stacks.

Something you should consider too.

nick

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Thur. Aug. 8, 2024 – ‘like sands through an hourglass…’

Hot. Crazy stinking hot in a black truck, and humid too. Forecast says we’ll have a couple of clear days, but it was patchy clouds yesterday. On a macro level, clear, in our microclimate? Only the Shadow knows. I’m looking at weather stations I can install at the BOL, like the one I have here. Only I’m looking for one that works, unlike the one I have here. Leaning toward another newer Acurite 5-n-1…

I spent yesterday doing some kid chauffeuring, and some fiddling around with stuff in the house. I did get a couple of small things done. I’m working on cleaning, organizing, and getting stuff ready for auction. I’m trying to get stuff out of the house…

That’s not working as well as I’d like.

Wife and D2 will be headed to the BOL later today. I’ll stay home with D1 for a while. I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting on Saturday and I have to be here for that. Plus, I just spent a week at the BOL, while my wife was with her parents. She needs some time to relax from that.

I’ve got a pickup this morning, and a Dr appointment in the afternoon. D1 did not make her sportsball team, so I guess I dodged a bullet there. That means a LOT fewer trips, pickups, and weekends that are not our own. Last year she was a walk on, but this year there were 40 girls trying for 20 spots. She’s not exactly heartbroken, as she is pretty ambivalent about sports anyway.

Life is what happens while you are waiting for other stuff…

Don’t forget to live your life while waiting for the zombies to come. They might not come in your lifetime. But do stack, stacks help all the time.

nick

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Wed. Aug. 7, 2024 – Still more driving around…

Hot and humid. Really. Not kidding. If it’s not raining. Which it might be. Because it’s all guessing. We got a few fat drops around dinner time last night, but that was it. Hot and humid the rest of the day.

Spent most of the day driving back and forth for the kids. I did sneak one trip across town to do two pickups in in the mid afternoon. And when I got back I started working on some stuff for my hobby meeting, instead of picking up the house… The project involves sewing so I had to get that stuff out and set up. Which added to the clutter when W got home. Not a happy evening.

Today the cleaning crew comes so someone thinks the house should be cleaned FIRST. Not gonna happen, that sort of thing is crazy mom and crazy childhood. Stuff does need to be put away, and the floors should be clear, but that’s as far as I’ll go.

I’ve also got to run the kid back and forth to more sportsball stuff. I’m not getting anything done in the morning, and probably little in the afternoon either.

Maybe I’ll work outside. Hmm.

Stack something. Anything useful. And then stack some more.

nick

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Tues. Aug. 6, 2024 – more chauffeuring and more running errands

Hot again. And humid. It was a bit less humid yesterday though, which was nice. There was plenty of heat. Mostly I hid indoors, when I wasn’t running the kid around town. Even short distance trips take more time than you would expect.

So I was mostly dad yesterday. Had sportsball tryouts, a Dr visit, more sportsball, and not a lot of work ended up being done. I did mostly auction stuff. And sitting at my computer. Did a quick update for my hobby site. It’s definitely easier with a wordpress based site.

Today I’ve got both kids running all over town. School is starting up soon and the back to school stuff is starting up too.

On my plate, I’ve got pickups, cleanup, fixes, auction stuff, and all the domestic bliss I’ve put off for two weeks.

So short shrift here, unfortunately.

Doesn’t mean you should slack off. One look at the headlines should convince you that there is room in the pantry for a few more cans, and room in the safe for a few more gats…

So stack it up.

nick

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Mon. Aug. 5, 2024 – home, and driving kid around

Hot and humid in Houston this week. Maybe less hot? Maybe wetter? No one knows, but it will probably be hot. And humid. Certainly was at the BOL. Even though it was cooler at night, the daystar warmed everything right up.

I did some small things, but mostly cleaned and put stuff away yesterday. I did apply fireant killer to the mounds. I like to do that last, even though this time the dog wasn’t there. The drive home was uneventful, which I like. I have to find some new audiobooks though, or get XM again. Commercial radio is so weak.

Today I’m playing chauffeur, and school hasn’t even started yet. Pickup from sports tryout, take to Dr visit, return, repeat… On the bright side it does give me some time to talk to the kid.

Later in the day I’ve got some of my own stuff to do. Putting away stuff, cleaning my office, getting stuff together for my regional show in three weeks, and doing all the normal domestic bliss should keep me busy.

There’s always something to do… I never have to go looking.

And there’s always something more to stack. Get busy!

nick

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Sun. Aug. 4, 2024 – heading home today

Possibly cooler today with a chance of rain? It was only 75F when I went to bed, after another hot and humid day. I was still a little dehydrated after dinner so I stayed up until I got caught up with my intake.

I got a bunch of stuff done. Small things but they should make a difference. Got the utility closet in the garage framed in and sheathed. Cut out the last of the copper pipe from behind the water heater and insulated that wall. Made some adjustments to the garage door so it would close completely. It was leaving a 2″ gap at the top, which let in a lot of hot air and made it hard for the A/C units to cool the room. They should have a chance now. We’ll see how it goes.

Re-mowed the lawn to break up all the rows of cut grass. It was drying out but not blowing away and I don’t want the grass to die in stripes.

I got a late start, but it feels good to get some things off the list, even if they weren’t high priority.

Today I’m going to do some more stuff, and then I’ll head home later. Wife and kids are back home from their trip to see the grandparents.

I’m looking forward to having the pack back together.

I didn’t get to meet with the foundation guys this trip, so I’ll have to find a time to do that, but otherwise I feel pretty good about what I did get done.

Stacking the jobs, and stacking some small achievements.

Always be working. And stacking.

nick

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Sat. Aug. 3, 2024 – getting tired of the heat and humidity…

Another hot humid day. More reason to find indoor stuff to do. I managed some outdoor stuff, and some mostly indoor stuff yesterday but still managed to get a bit dehydrated.

I tried for balance, and for cool down periods. I didn’t go in the sun at all. Still sweated more than I realized. I was working in the covered carport, and in the garage. I’ve got the airconditioners running in the garage, but they can’t get it down below about 81F when it is 100F out. You’d think that was good enough, but it’s still sweat dripping off your eyelashes if you do any real work.

Still, despite my complaints I did get real stuff done yesterday. And I managed to do a load of laundry in between other things. Domestic bliss, even here.

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Lots of doom pron in the Daily Mail about the stock market downturn yesterday. Dunno if it’s real, but it feels too early for the really big hit. 2008 played out over the weekend so it’s possible for big things to happen very suddenly… Keep your eyes open, and some cash on hand…

Having said that, I raided my ready precious for $800 to buy 4×4 posts for my dock project yesterday. I hope I don’t come to regret not having the cash.

Can’t time everything right, and the universe tends towards maximum perversity. It would suck to have the financial apocalypse this weekend. We’ve made preparations, but there is always more you can do, and you always want more time to do it.

With that in mind, stack some extra. Consider this weekend a wake up call that things are coming apart. They do that periodically. Don’t get caught lackin, get to stackin’…

nick

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Fri. Aug. 2, 2024 – enough slackin’, time for work

Hot, still and again. But it’s the humidity that is killing me. Just standing still outside, in the shade, with a breeze, and I had sweat trickling down my spine and sternum yesterday. My thermometer said 101F, in mixed sun and shade. Dunno what the actual RH was but it felt like 95%. Probably get that again today.

I didn’t do any work during the day yesterday. I spent several hours just sitting and talking with my buddy up here. I did do some of it while moving some of the stuff out of my truck bed, and sweating with that little exertion, so I feel like I made the correct call about doing any work outdoors. I still could have done some stuff inside though.

Late in the day I did the string trimming, and I ended up blurry and soaked to the skin with sweat. Had to shower and it took a while to cool down. I was dumb, and pushed just a tiny bit too far. Good warning for taking it easier though.

Today I’ll be unloading the rest of the truck, picking up some posts I bought up here to use for dock repair, and doing some other stuff, indoors with A/C, as a break. I might even do laundry.

That should be enough to wear me out. The humidity is crippling. Well, very limiting at the least.

Working to improve my situation… and stacking stuff against future need. Like most days.

nick

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Thur. Aug. 1, 2024 – time marches on, gonna be school starting up soon…

Hot and humid, but first merely warm and humid. Supposed to be clear for a few more days, so the sun will heat it up soon enough.

I spent yesterday fixing my mower, and cutting the grass. I did my yard, and the HOA park next door. Took a long time as I had to go slow and take less than full swaths so I didn’t bog down the mower. Grass was really tall and thick.

Today I’ll probably trim and blow to finish the yardwork. Might try to burn some of the slash pile. Will find some projects that don’t involve baking my brain later in the day…

The world continues to get weirder, and march to war. Anyone got a good article about increased export controls? Heard someone mention it in passing as part of the difficulty for their business in this economy. Depending one what’s restricted, I’ll add it to my list of indicators that war is coming.

War or not, preps are a good thing.

nick

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Wed. July 31, 2024 – it’s getting hot in here…

Hot and humid at the BOL today, although slightly less than Houston, if I get lucky. It was hot yesterday in Houston, and dripping wet. Just standing around outside had my shirt soaked with sweat. The humidity just makes it miserable. We’ll get more too, before the summer is done.

I spent the day doing pickups, and running errands before heading to the BOL to do some work. I had to hit Lowes for some lumber and plywood, and grabbed some closeout plumbing supplies too. I always check the clearance aisle and yesterday I hit paydirt. They had a bunch of sharkbite fittings marked down to 1/4 or 1/3 of retail. Since I’ll eventually need to finish my master bath remodel, I picked up a bunch of stuff.

Also swung by the chiropractor, and the HEB for some groceries. Nothing really good on sale at the HEB this visit.

I also dropped the dog off at a friend’s house for the week, and loaded up the truck. By the time I got all that done, and did the minimum housecleaning that would keep me alive when my wife gets back, it was after 10pm. Kinda late to be heading up, but I figured at least I’d be here in the morning.

And I’ve got a bunch of work to do. The grass is knee high. It’s gonna be slow going bushwhacking that. Then I’ll start looking at the list, with heavy weight given to tasks in the shade or in the house. I do not want to hurt myself in the heat.

Maybe I’ll find some time to write and AAR for the past two months. I did learn a few things.

Always be learning new things. And stacking the knowledge as well as the stuff.

nick

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