Category: decline and fall

Hot and humid again, or still, or of course. Sunny and bright too. Yesterday was crazy hot and humid.

I drove in a big loop across most of Houston to do 4 pickups and then come home to get the kid. Saw three fires. I never see fires after that one year when I saw a half dozen. These all had responders on scene so I didn’t need to use my fire extinguishers. I’ve got a bunch in the truck… if needed.

Went out to my client’s house to help get xfinity fiber to the home installed. The installer wouldn’t get in an attic without a floor. And he really didn’t know much about networking, and barely could explain the features and limits of the service he was installing. For example, he didn’t know if it came with a fixed IP address or not. We’ll see later today if he managed to get it configured and provisioned, or not.

And that’s what I’ll be doing late morning, early afternoon- transitioning from the ATT fiber to the xfinity fiber. I’ve got some changes to make to the ubiquiti security gateway and router. Hope xfinity gets their part done, so I can flail away at mine. Then we’ll run the two concurrently either in load balance or in failover mode until the ATT contract expires. I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since we put the fiber in.

Time flies. Life. It’s what happens when you are planning for something else.

Don’t miss it.

—————-
With this second assassination attempt on T, things are getting even sportier. Get your stuff in a row.

Stack like time is short. It might be.

nick

Hot and humid, but maybe no rain today. Small blob of “T Storms and rain possible” but a lot of “clear” on the forecast map too. I’m leaning toward “clear”. It was plenty hot yesterday, getting well into the 90s.

I did manage to get a few things done. I got the fan unstuck in the new garage fridge. The freezer was super cold, but the fridge wasn’t. The fan turned out to be stuck and the passage between them was blocked with ice. Cleared all that out and it’s cooling the fridge normally again. So now I can put that in place in the garage.

It will give me a nice platform for the live animal cage trap. To get the possum that is moving from my garage to the house attic, through the soffits and the breezeway roof. I’ve definitely got one in the attic, and one in the garage, but IDK if they are one in the same. I think I blocked the path between the garage and house, but I could be wrong. Or there might be another path. We’ll see what the attic trap does in the next day or so.

And I’ve got a big armadillo in my back yard. Dog went nuts last night, and we went out to pull him off the possum, but it turned out to be an armadillo instead. Dillo was trying to burrow under my house slab. Dog was trying to eat what he could see. Dang thing moved FAST when it had the chance to run away… then it got trapped trying to dig under the woodpile by the fence. Like a toddler or an ostrich, if it’s head is safe, it doesn’t care about the rest and it just kept trying to burrow. Crazy good digger too. Not much of a climber. I think it’s only the second time I’ve seen a live one, and the first time I’ve seen one that close or that long. Not really happy to have him in the yard.

Cats, rats, dogs, squirrels, coons, and now ‘dillos. Oy.

Today if there isn’t a security incident at school, I’ll be continuing my cleanup and organizing, while knocking off a small project here or there as I can. I’ve got pickups I can do if I get the chance.

And if not, there are always things to do here.

Stack something. Do something.

nick

Hot, hey boy it’s hot. Thought we were gonna head into Fall, but nope. Well into the upper 90s yesterday, and as humid. Soaked me to the skin to do some work in the garage. Today will likely be similar. Not looking forward to it.

Did my hobby meeting yesterday. Got an overview of how the club did with our show, we lost ~$70. We usually make a couple of thousand dollars, but attendance was down. If not for a new deal with the table rental company, we’d have lost almost $2000. We have money in the bank, but the yearly show is our only real fundraiser, and it pays for the stuff we do during the year. I grossed somewhere between $1200 and $2400 for my three days. Dunno where I ended up net, because some of the stuff I sold I’d had so long I couldn’t even guess what my cost was. Since I didn’t take any big hits, I’m guessing somewhere around $1000 net. That will fund my hobby for the next year, mostly, and the main point is to be out there talking with people and interacting with them. Just like my hamfest sales.

After the meeting, one of the guys locked his keys in his truck. A newer F-150. I have a slim jim and a chinese made kit of “entry tools” in my truck, but I didn’t have my air wedges. The F-150 door is solid enough that without the plastic pry bars and the air shims, I was afraid to try to open it. The guy he called opened it in 1 minute using 2 air shims and a big long metal stick. He used the stick to push the unlock button… I want one. Charged $200 and had the nerve to ask for a tip. My buddy is considering getting an AAA membership…

Getting into your own vehicle is something everyone should learn to do, and practice at least a couple of times. And a spare key in a magnet storage box tucked up under the frame is a good idea. $10 to save $200, and a half hour waiting… that’s a good prep.

Speaking of “entry tools”… one of the auctioneers I was talking to this week had their work pickup truck stolen from their office complex. They had previously had their catalytic converter stolen, and then the replacement was stolen a week later. This time, 4 guys in two cars drove up, one guy messed around under the middle of the truck (my guess, disengaging the transmission or putting it in neutral) for a few seconds, then they pushed it out of view of the camera. Don’t know if they towed it from there or did more breaking in away from the cam… The office is in Stafford, generally considered a decent and ‘safe’ area. Lots of ‘immigrants’ in the area now.

The security situation is degrading everywhere.

Today I’ll be doing stuff around the house. What stuff will mostly depend on the heat. There is a big list, so I’m sure I’ll find something to do to avoid it 🙂

Stack some friends, stack some knowledge, and maybe stack some specialty tools…

nick

Warm again, sunny and clear. Humid, too. Like the 13th. Sweaty thighs just standing around. Yuck.

I drove around in that heat doing my pickups. All over town and back. Got a couple hundred feet of razor wire. I’ll add it to the stacks of several hundred feet of barbed wire. Don’t know where or when I’ll need it, but I’ve got it. I actually think one of my neighbors at the BOL will need the barbed wire… or we’ll need to build some barricades after the fall…

And my project of ripping DVDs to the media server continues. Like so many things in life, just doing a little bit at a time, over time, will yield results. I’ve managed to rip another dozen or more movies, and a couple dozen CDs while sitting here doing other things. My collection grows…

Today I’ve got my non-prepping hobby monthly meeting. We’ll be doing show and tell about what we got at our big yearly show, and wrapping that up. My duties will be limited to the web site again, which is just fine. I enjoy being a part of the group and the group effort. I recommend finding something that gets you out of the house and involves you with people outside of your immediate acquaintances. It is a valuable experience, helps avoid tunnel vision, and is rewarding in its own right. People are important, and learning (or re-learning) how to get along and be part of a group is a valuable skill.

Stack up some friends and acquaintances. Stack some stuff. Do both!

nick

And it’s hot again. Mainly because it’s warm with crazy humidity. False Fall seems to have ended so that Summer could have a few more beers and stick around for a bit. High in the 80s in the afternoon, but dripping, stifling, humid. And today is likely to be similar.

Spent all day yesterday, when I wasn’t driving a kid somewhere or doing auction stuff online, moving stuff in and out of my office. I pulled a lot of stuff out, and sorted through it. Reorganized some. Put some elsewhere. At the moment I can walk straight into my office and sit down. Still need to work on opening up the paths to the rest of the office, but at least I got some done.

During that exercise, I also moved and sorted some stuff in the living room and ‘toy” room or library. I’ve got a ‘scratch and dent’ humidor the size of a 3.1 cubic foot dorm fridge that I had to get out of the box, and see if it runs so that I can sell it… and I finally got that set up and out of the living room. I had to lay it on its back to fix the door hinge, so I’ll plug it in today and see if I will make some money, or need to spend a bit more time and energy on it. I’ve got several to flip, but not as big as this.

Today I’ll get a pickup or two, drive the kid around, and generally continue with my cleanup, organizing, and fixing binge.

Still trying to make some money as well as stack. So I can make room for stacks, and stack some do-re-mi…

‘cuz stacks of money will solve a lot of issues…

And stacks of food will help too.

Git you some!

n

Cool with more overcast and possibility of rain. Yesterday was cool, and had rain, but not much of it. Occasional misty drizzle barely counts as rain by Houston standards. It did get stuff wet…

Between the stuff I’ve got piled up, and the stuff that needs doing, I shouldn’t have a free moment or a clear space to put stuff, and yet… I moved stuff around, did the kid driving duties, and picked up a couple of things. I’m really buying less that I used to. I ‘ve got most of what I am looking for, and that helps, but also I’m being a bit more picky. In any case, my typical pickup now is just a few items from each auction house.

There are exceptions, of course.

Today I’ll be picking up locally from one house, doing my normal household stuff, and maybe working on the list of projects. In other words, just another day in paradise…

Find your own little paradise, and get to work building it up. And stack. Paradise has needs.

nick

Cooler but still clear. Should be another nice day before any storm effects hit us. I saw a high of 88F at the house yesterday, and a low of 76F. That’s a smaller range, and lower temps overall. Enjoy!

Did auction stuff in the morning. Then in the afternoon I did one pickup. Got the kid from school. Grocery shopped. Made dinner. Domestic bliss.

Spent some time chatting with an auctioneer I don’t see very often, and my neighbor. No new insights, but both are feeling the economic squeeze. It’s wide spread and spreading. HEB had Prime chuck roast on sale, so I bought some. They also had it sliced thin and packaged as “steaks”. That’s a very inexpensive cut for a steak… almost a ‘hillbilly’ steak. The market is definitely moving downscale.

Today I’ve got to do some auction in the afternoon, but first I will do more cleaning and putting away around the house. Might find time to do some gear testing in between. I need to find my range bag…

Shooting may be a perishable skill if you are trying for Annie Oakley levels of performance, but if you have a solid foundation, I think you can get acceptable to good results, even with time off. I always start a range day with a “draw and fire” point shooting exercise- cold gub, cold me, and no time to aim. I usually put the whole magazine on the paper. That’s pretty OK in my estimation and a better assessment than a clean target with tight groups at the end of a day of exercises and practice.

We’ll see how it goes. As long as I don’t embarrass myself…

Get out there and practice a skill. Even better if you can work in some time with your friends or network, or use the time to MAKE friends and expand your network.

Stack some time on task, and some buckets…

nick

Cooler is so nice. Cooler and sunny, with warm later describes yesterday and today’s forecast. I’m looking forward to it since we apparently have a storm coming from the Gulf…

Did indoor stuff, despite the great weather. SWMBO decreed that I would work on tax related stuff, so I did. I alternated with domestic bliss and organizing and putting away things. Watched some youtube too.

Today will be more productive. I did get some of her questions answered, but I need to do mileage and some categorizing in Quickbooks. This preliminary organizing and summarizing, as well as data validating, makes it easier for our accountant/enrolled agent/tax preparer. That saves us money, and gives us a look at the expenses and finances that we could miss if we just handed her a stack of paper and a quicken file. It’s worth doing but it isn’t my favorite task.

I’ve got some other stuff to do today too, like a few auction pickups. I should at least get the one in the wrong direction from all the others. I can put those off until Tuesday or Wednesday and group them into one trip. I prefer to combine trips when possible.

It’s time to start moving some other projects forward too, now that the cooler weather is starting. I don’t know how I’ll fit them in, but cutting back on online time is probably the best and easiest way. That would give me an extra hour or two during the day… staying awake all day would help too. And not driving around doing pickups- that would help as well.

IDK what I’ll do yet, but I’ll figure something out.

If I learn to clone myself, I’ll share here in the comments.

Until then, I’ll just keep grinding and stacking.

nick

Cool-ish, warm-ish, sunny and damp. Should be mid to upper 70s, and maybe low 80s, which is a HUGE drop in temps from a week ago. Feels nice too. Yesterday was beautiful. Since we were on the edge of the forecast zone, we didn’t get the rain. We got sun and blue sky, with mid 70s temps. Windows down, and driving around…

Talked to my neighbor about fence repairs. He will get a bid or 2 and manage it. I’ll write a check for half.

Did my hobby pickup in Conroe. Saw the lake through the trees. I like lakes and woods and Conroe has both. Stopped at a “giant garage sale” since I was there… but it was a guy’s barn full of marked stuff that he obviously periodically tries to sell. Cutting the prices in half would help him… a three car garage full of stuff, and most of it was crep or to expensive and very little even caught my eye. Some people don’t have an eye for what will sell.

Then I went by my secondary to see about some electrical fittings for the generator. I have stuff that will work, but I’m still looking for a better solution. Home Depot didn’t have anything that would work for me either.

Didn’t get to see my auctioneer about taking more stuff. I thought he was in the office until 4, but he was gone by 2pm.

Got home, watched some youtube. Had a relaxing evening.

Today I’ll do a bit more in the back yard. No one else cleaned up the trimmings from the trees or bushes, so I guess I will. Amazing how gender roles come back when there is a spider to kill or some unpleasant yard work… and I’ve got other stuff to clean up and put away. Sorting through it slowly. That should be a lot easier and quicker now that just being outdoors isn’t a health risk.

Do what you can, with what you have, and when you can. And stack…

nick