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Category: decline and fall

Fri. May 31, 2024 – School’s out for summer… school’s out for ever….

Or not. But it is summer and summer temps are here. Not quite on the 10s which is my own phrase for when it’s 80F at 800AM and 90F at 900AM, and 100F at 1000AM… soon though. And rainy, probably for the next 4 days. Just what I need.

Spent the day at my client’s poking at things. What details there are in yesterday’s comments. Basically I hate “automagic” programmer BS. That’s probably the root cause of why I’m not an apple fanboi. I certainly had exposure to them during my formative years. Never ‘took’ for me though. I did make progress and fixed a number of issues. It’s always nice when I can do that.

Today is going to be a couple of pickups, and also me attempting to get my truck registrations up to date. We’ll see how long that takes. While I’m doing that, I’m going to apply for the Radio Operator plates too. There is a small opsec issue with the plates, but anyone sophisticated/knowledgeable enough to look them up can probably dox me anyway from my regular plates. The advantage is having the same plate on both trucks, and having only one renewal date.

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In bigger news, they found Trump guilty of something. This is surely someone’s red line, and signal to go active. And if not this one, then sometime soon, and someone serious. I’m looking for “terror” attacks on infrastructure, and around NYFC in particular. Could be anything though. Might take a bit for them to update plans, etc. Or they might be ready. Or we could see a false flag, since I’m not the only one speculating…

And the flip side is that it will surely embolden both our domestic lefties and foreign devils. Watching the crowing on tv yesterday was kinda bizarre. No one ever thinks they’ll be out of power, or out of favor, but history shows us that the pendulum swings and what is sauce for the goose quickly becomes sauce for the gander. In 10 or 20 years I hope they think it was worth it to destroy what we had to get the orange man.

In any case, ordinary folks are going to be in a world of hurt when it all kicks off.

You’ve had time to prep, use the remaining time wisely. Stack all the things, and keep your personal awareness level HIGH.

nick

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Thur. May 30, 2024 – seems crazy that May is gone too…

Coolish, then warming. Who knows about precip, it came crashing down briefly depending on where you were. Same could happen again. I’d like to get a couple days to recover.

Spent most of yesterday running errands. Didn’t have to head to the BOL to power up the freezers, as power came on just before I left the house. Procrastination for the win!

I ended up getting propane bottles exchanged, gas tank filled, mechanic consulted and appointment made, and an auction pickup from the guys I haven’t seen in over a month. I had 4 auctions of stuff waiting. There were some other things in there too, and kid support stuff.

Today will be similar, after I head to my client’s house. He’s got a bunch of issues I hope I can sort out. Kids have early dismissal and it’s the last day of school, so they’ll be up to no good. I really need to be home in the afternoon……

Plus I’ve got at least one nearby auction pickup, and more likely two that I can do today.

That’s on top of all the stuff I haven’t been doing because I’ve been out of town. I need to start working harder on catching up.

This stuff isn’t going to stack itself…

Do what you can.

nick

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Wed. May 29, 2024 – back at the BOL?? Maybe.

Cool, but warming. No idea if it’s gonna be nice for a while. Yesterday was certainly a kick in the teeth.

Started the day at the BOL when the tree guy arrived early. He said there was a storm on the way… He got done and gone in 2 hours, and I left another hour later, with black skies behind me. The storm was moving very quickly and chased me all the way to Houston. When I stopped running south, it caught me.

HUGE downpour, 3-5 inches of water in my buckets. An incredibly long hail storm with mostly golf ball sized hail. Before I could drive to shelter, one smashed my windshield. And the way things were spanging off the sheet metal, I thought the truck would LOOK like a golf ball. The damage to the windshield is in the lower corner, so it’s drivable, and the sheet metal held up better than I thought. Still, crazy storm.

Of course, it hit the BOL shortly after I left. Power went out around 1130am so it’s going to be almost 24 hours by the time I get up there to start the generator… This assumes that power isn’t restored overnight, since I’m planning and writing this Tuesday night. I’ll know in the morning if I actually have to head up.

Getting some sort of automatic power backup option for the BOL is rapidly becoming not optional.

This weather is nuts, but it is nothing like what will happen if people start targeting infrastructure.

Think about that if you are patting yourself on the back for not being in Texas…

And I don’t want to be the boy who cried wolf, but things seem to be getting out of hand in the political realm, and the geopolitical realm. Of course, in the end the wolf DID come… it won’t take much to break the grid.

A breakdown in previously reliable systems is one of the things that happens when a society starts to collapse. And there are plenty of people willing to help it along.

Think about your alternatives seriously. Make some plans and buy what you need.

Then stack it up.

nick

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Tues. May 28, 2024 – Tree work and more!

Another hot, humid day, with heat alerts and high misery index. Yesterday was crazy obnoxious between the heat, humidity, and the blazing sun. No wind just added the fuel to the fire. Just standing in the shade talking soaked my shirt with sweat. And we’ll probably get more today.

Gah.

I did manage to get a few things done, by going very slowly, waiting for small breezes, and sweating profusely.

I got the Wen inverter generator running. Turns out it needed oil, some shipping brackets removed, and then it started. Just needed to do the proper commissioning. Apparently it doesn’t ship with a bottle of oil, making it useless to you when it arrives. I’m sure whatever they save is far outweighed by the outraged buyers and returns…

I fixed a chainsaw. Fuel poured out immediately upon filling… so something must have been disconnected. I finally had the time and inclination to pull the cover and figure it out. One fuel line came undone. Took 10 minutes to fix. Thank you amazon returns. $25 and a bit of time and I’ve got another like new chainsaw as backup.

I loaded the truck for my trip home. I was already soaked, and didn’t want to get sweaty today. It didn’t leave any room for trash or flood debris. I’ll get that next time. I guess.

Finally I took down the cell booster antenna and cleared the path for the tree guy to work today. He’s fitting me in between jobs, and I wanted to be here at least when he gets started. I’ve got a pickup in Houston in the afternoon, so I will have to leave at some point, no matter what the guy is doing. He’s said he doesn’t need me here, so it’ll be ok.

Sometimes I feel like Dory in Finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”

Wish I could outsource some of this stuff.

You do what you have to do though…

Stack it up, you’ll probably need it sooner rather than later.

nick

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Sun. May 26, 2024 – another day to work… and there is work that needs doing

Warm and humid rapidly becoming hot and crazy humid. Like yesterday did.

I tried to stay out of the sun, and not really exert myself. Those leg cramps kinda scared me. So I mostly worked on the mower. Details are in comments yesterday, but the summary is, there is always something more. And spending time on the mower, when I used to have a working mower, is time spent going backwards.

That is one of the risks of keeping older stuff running. The time it takes can be trivial or it can eat days. And you probably won’t know until it happens. On the other hand, new stuff breaks too, and the starting cost is higher.

While searching for the parts I know I bought, I did do a bit of sorting and organizing. That’s always good.

I’m hoping to finish messing with the mower, and actually cut some grass today. Then I’ll probably do some more demo in the dock house, and maybe give it one more spray with the ‘kills everything’ treatment (VitalOxide, if you were wondering, and not from any specific knowledge, but from getting it cheap in the auctions last year.) In Houston Texas you know you’ll need cleaner and disinfectant eventually. This stuff is supposed to be better than plain bleach, and has an odor reducing property too. Seems to be working so far.

I’ve got some other gas powered equipment that needs work too, so maybe I’ll get to that.

Or maybe I’ll do something else. The lists are long.

Having part on hand helps. Having the supplies you need on hand helps. Having the knowledge to apply them helps a lot. Stack all three.

nick

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Sat. May 25, 2024 – Still working at the BOL

Hot. Humid. HOT! It was high 90s yesterday and the humidity matched. Brain was boiling in my head. Had to get my cool vest out and wear it in the afternoon. Today will probably be similar.

I spent the morning fixing a second generator. New carb went on and it started on the third pull. Love that gennie, and glad it’s back in service. Power was restored around noon, so I didn’t need to use it, but I’ll take it back to Houston for the next blackout.

A quick note about extension cords while I’m thinking about them. If you are going to run a small gennie just for cold stuff and chargers, you will need extension cords. (assuming you don’t backfeed the house, or install a transfer switch). I like the ones with a molded on three-fer outlet on the end. I run 25ft and 50ft. I pick the length to put an end where I need it, and then extend to the next appliance. I always plug the “through” line into the middle outlet, and use the left or right for local power. This makes a nice branching power distro and is easy to troubleshoot. You don’t need super heavy cords if your gennie only puts out 20 amps anyway.

For the rest of the day I alternated picking up downed limbs, cutting the grass, and doing general cleanup. I’ve got two big burn piles, and I’m not done yet. I took the time to cool down several times. Even got my ice pack cool vest out of the freezer and wore it. It’s more effective than the evaporative cooling vest when it’s this humid. It made a big difference in my comfort.

I had to refuel the chainsaw twice so I guess I was busy.

Today will be more of the same, and if I’m not too crippled up I should be able to finish the cleanup. I’m pretty stiff and sore from the work. Physical fitness is a prep. I’ve never been one for working out, but I did do chinese martial arts and stretching for years. Unfortunately I stopped, and haven’t been able to get back in the habit. I’m finding that I can’t just “keep on” without extra effort though. Something has to change, and I think stretching and movement is a good place to start. I’ll add it to my list…

Stack. Especially infrastructure. You WILL need it.

nick

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Fri. May 24, 2024 – doing recovery at the BOL

Cool last night, and I’m hoping that continues. But it was sweatier than Satan’s butt crack in Houston. I was soaked to the skin loading the truck.

So yesterday was a bit of a kick in deeznutz… after doing my morning stuff, and just before I was ready to leave the house, I started getting texts about the power being out at the BOL, and there being a bunch of trees down, etc. That changed my plan for the day, and the weekend as it turned out.

Seems the bad weather that passed north of Houston Wed night did a number on the area around the BOL. In particular it dropped some big trees on power lines, and shook chunks of tree out of the sky all over the place. Including the roof of my house, the patio, and other places to be discovered in the light of day today.

Hearing how long the power had been out, I loaded up my truck with all the stuff I’d brought home to deal with the disaster in Houston- fuel, generators, tree cutting stuff… and I headed up. Had to do a stop on the east side of town to pickup stuff that couldn’t be delayed and EVERYONE was driving light idiots. Huge backups and delays throughout the Houston area. Took longer to get to my pickup, took longer to get to the BOL.

I only had about twenty minutes of daylight to get a gennie set up and survey the damage. One quick walk around and I was busy with propane and pull cords. Got ‘er adjusted and running, ran cords to the stuff that is supposed to be cold, and a few convenience items. Fans and starlink being the most critical. Cell booster antenna got knocked by a tree and will be one of the first things I try to put right today.

Then I’ll start looking at where I can cut and remove limbs and debris. Some stuff will need a pro, like the tree that is leaning on the chimney. I’d love to pull it back to vertical, but IDK if that works. Losing it will suck both for structural reasons -it stabilizes the hill, and for practical reasons = it shades the house in the afternoon, saving power on A/C.

Much of what fell was supposed to have been removed some time ago, but we delayed. That should be a lesson- if it needs doin’, do it.

That goes for fixing the generators too. I should have jumped on that. As for solar, it moved up the list, and involved some discussion with the boss. She’s on board with putting some up and getting started on the path.

It’s been a hellova few weeks, but it would have been a lot worse without stuff from the stacks. It’s not over, I think stuff like this is just getting started. Even if you are just getting started, stack something!

nick

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Thur. May23, 2024 – More rain for the BOL, but it should miss Houston…

But not today. Hot, humid, and sun beating down by afternoon… with temps in the mid 90s. Like yesterday.

I was so weary yesterday that I didn’t get much done. Some auction stuff, but not much else. Had to get the kid from school in the early afternoon too.

I’ll be busy today though. I’m headed to the BOL on Friday, so I’ve got stuff to get done today. I’ve got a couple of auction pickups. I’ve got a couple of maintenance things to do. I’ve got to get the back fence stabilized a bit better than the wife and kid left it. Yesterday the neighbor did some work on theirs but just left a big hole where ours meets theirs that the dog could easily get through. I had to move some chain link fence to the area. That’s when I realized I’d better do something about the fence to fix the temporary repairs with some more temporary repairs.

Oh, I got an email from one of my storage units that many units were damaged by water and I should check mine out and get any damaged stuff out before it rots… I’m hoping it’s not my units that were damaged. I guess we’ll see soon enough.

So no rest for the weary today. Yesterday will have to be enough.

Get back to work slacker.

And get back to prepping, stacker…

nick

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Wed. May 22, 2024 – school days, school days, dear old golden rule days…

Hot and humid again. National weather forecast has stuff just north of us again, but Houston in the clear. Hot and clear. Humid and clear. It was 94F and sunny yesterday afternoon and that just killed me for working outdoors in the sun. Nope, not gonna do it.

So yesterday’s plan, such as it was, didn’t really work. I did computer stuff in the morning, getting partway caught up on my auctions, but then ended up running D2 over to a friend’s house to watch movies. I hit a goodwill and then Costco on the way home. Costco has Charmin blue on sale this cycle, and their French Roast whole bean coffee was <$5/pound. I also grabbed a two pack of prime sirloin cap roasts (picanha roast). We had one for dinner, and one went in the freezer. They were $6/pound which is a great price. I'm out of freezer space though. The Kirkland french roast whole bean is pretty good, and pretty darn good for the price. At the moment it's cheaper than the Community Coffee that I like.. I noticed that new EMPTY LP gas bottles are now $42 each at Costco. They were ~$20 pre-wuflu. That's a big increase in anyone's book. They had several varieties of rice but they are still short stock and choices with higher prices compared to 2 years ago. I made dinner and vac sealed the roast and some prime sirloin I'd picked up and just put in the freezer in the store packaging. It won't last long in the thin plastic, so I'm glad I noticed I hadn't done the bagging. A bit more auction stuff in the evening and it was time to retire and face another day. Today the kids have school again. Some schools are still without power, but the district decided to bring as many kids back as possible. I don't recall them doing that in the previous 8 years... it's usually all or nothing. Still have neighbors nearby that don't have power, and there are still streets that are partly or completely blocked. I went and looked at the one a couple blocks from me, and it is a HUGE tree with very thick branches. I think a couple of people could clear it in a few hours, at least to open one lane, but it would be a lot of work in the sun. I decided to let someone else work at it. Still doing cleanup and putting stuff back, but didn't receive my replacement carb yesterday either. I don't want to get elbow deep in generators until I can do them all. And I might set up the evaporative cooling fan first. I've got it, I should use it. And some sun shade would be nice. We'll see how today goes, with an early wrap to my stuff when the kids need rides home. Maybe I'll get a grocery trip in. Gotta keep stacking... nick

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Tues. May 21, 2024 – no school, but I still have power, touch wood…

Hot and humid again today. Boy it was unpleasant yesterday. In fact, the heat and humidity combined with my weariness, and left me mostly taking the day to sit in the blessed cool of the A/C and read.

That’s AFTER getting up, trying to get the gennie started for the day, eating breakfast, and starting on gennie repair. And looking out the window to see linemen doing their thing on my street… which led to getting my power restored in the mid-morning and only a few days after it went out. They really have done an outstanding job, considering that unlike a hurricane, they didn’t have a whole crew lined up outside the hurricane zone, staged and ready to jump in.

Once the A/C was on, I wasn’t motivated to bake my brain in the sun. I did do some pickup and clean up and putting away inside the house…

And I worked on getting my office and computers back up. With some success. I seem to have one damaged monitor. Not bad considering how many over and under voltage events must have occurred.

Then my wife and kids decided to come home for a few days before we head back up for the long weekend. They got in around 10pm. It’s good to have the pack together.

Today will be continuing to put everything back where it belongs, and maybe even make some inroads on the patio or driveway, since I should be out there anyway. Oh, and doing some gennie work. The carb didn’t arrive yesterday, but it’s supposed to arrive today. If this turns out to be one of those scammy drop shippers or china packet mail shippers, I’m calling amazon to complain. There were other sellers but this was the one at the top of amazon’s results. Amazon has allowed their platform to be overrun with scammers and chinese sellers and pure cr@p. It’s getting harder to find the good product every day.

The world gets cr@pier every day.

Try to make your personal world a little better. You can’t counter the whole world, but you can improve your situation.

And by now you know I think you should do it by stacking the stuff you need.

nick

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