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Month: May 2022

Wed. May 11, 2022 – well it’s Wednesday already…

Hot and humid again.  Pretty nice yesterday, although hot, the  humidity was lower and in the shade it was very pleasant.

I got some pickups done, and took some stuff to storage.  Oh, and I used the dumpster at my secondary location to get rid of more debris from the BOL.

Today the plan is  to get another pickup done, then move stuff from storage to the auction, and get an item for my non-prepping hobby swap meet sale this weekend.

I might make a run up to the BOL depending on timing and how I feel.  That would put me up there overnight and part of Thursday.  If I’m there, I might as well do some work…  and if I’m doing work, I will do it in the garden.  I’ve got a whole load ready to go up anyway.

Meanwhile, the world turns.   The stock market might be finally reacting to the other stuff going on, and the thing that can not go on forever will come to an end.  Remember that in 2008 the collapsing market values were a stairstep down, a pause, then again, and again, and again.  There were mini recoveries, but the trend was down.  I’m hoping against it, but I think this might be time.  It is well overdue by most accounts.  We’ll certainly know soon enough.

 

No matter what happens, as many folks have been saying in one way or another,  stacks will help.

So stack, like your life depends on it.  Because it might.

n

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Tues. May 10, 2022 – no pithy comment today

Hot and humid, but clear, like yesterday…   So I better get some stuff done early, or sweat to the skin later.

 

Did all indoor stuff yesterday.  I spent a bunch of time trying to model the slope and terrain at the BOL in Sketchup.   The ‘sandbox’ tool is great for fantasy terrain, but there doesn’t seem to be a good fast way to match existing.   I’m about half way through trying to do something with contours… which if it doesn’t work, I’ll have to do over with a different method.   Just plotting my elevations has been useful to see the ‘lay of the land’ though.

Speaking of the BOL, I think I’m shooting for heading back up on Wednesday.  I’ve got so much to do, and I get more done when I’m there by myself, that I can’t skip a week.  We’re heading up for the weekend, but it will be another short trip.

New A/C system seems to be a bit more efficient than the old.   Days like yesterday, the old system would be falling behind by 330 pm, but the new system kept up just fine.  Tentatively I’ll call it money well spent.

Sometime soon, I’ve got to do some personal checkups and maintenance on this old body of mine.  Better to do it than to wait.  Obamma-lamma no care kicked my various doctors’ @sses and I’ve been without a primary care doc for too long.  Past time to do something about that.

Add it to the list.

And stack it high.

n

 

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Mon. May 9, 2022 – let’s get this party started…

Hot and humid, not much chance of clouds.  The next three days look the same.   Yesterday was hot in Houston, and at the BOL.

Some work got done, some fun was had.

Today is nose to the grindstone.   Again.   This time for realz.

Because hard times are coming.

Stack it up.

n

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Sun. May 8, 2022 – Happy Mother’s Day

Hot here, and continues to be hot in Texas, and much of the mid-west.  It was in the 80’s even with some overcast, and late in the day.  I’m expecting the same today, but maybe today I’ll get in the lake.

Saturday had me doing a bunch of stuff before leaving the house.  One thing was putting my network rack back together and making sure my cams were up and recording.   Two of the neighbors had their trucks burglarized the night before and I didn’t get any video.  Both left the trucks unlocked, both lost gubs.   That is just seriously stupid, and it’s the second time for the one guy.

Finally I got on the road.  Stopped in Conroe to do a pickup.  More stuff for the BOL.   Eventually got here.

My perfectly prepped garden has sprouted GRASS in a uniform layer.   If I’d  planted it, I doubt it would have looked so good.  That’s going away today, and some veg WILL get planted.  One good thing, it showed that the back two feet of tilled earth don’t really get enough sunlight.  The new grass was much thinner there.  I will keep that in mind as I plant.

Lots of projects today, we’ll see what gets done.   We will get out on the water, and I think I’ll probably get into the water this trip.   My wife insists that we have some fun today.

And since it’s Mother’s Day, and she’s a mom, I guess I better do what she tells me to do….

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms.

n

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Sat. May 7, 2022 – Ah work, I could watch it all day….

Sunny and hot, humid of course.  It’s supposed to be a very hot weekend.  Lynn has been watching the power generation numbers here in Texas, and the heat is going to drive some really high usage…  I’m kinda selfish normally, but if we are careful to reduce unneeded usage for the weekend, we’ll all have the power we need to keep cool.

I spent yesterday in the heat.   I might have spent too long in it, as I was feeling poorly by the end of the day.  I did a couple of pickups, then spent the rest of the afternoon sorting and stacking at one of my storage units.  I finished up by loading the truck for today’s run up to the BOL.

Our weekend commitments will come first, mainly swim team practice, but also lawn cutting and general weekend stuff.   Then I’ll find the last few things I need to get together for this week’s work – seeds, camping hot water heater, plumbing bits, hardware cloth, outdoor shower stuff…   wife has decided we will have an outdoor shower at the BOL until our septic situation is resolved.   Conveniently, I have a propane fired instant hot water heater stacked somewhere, as a prep against a long outage here.  I need to get it out, look at what is involved (a hose, propane tank, and shower head, presumably) and get those parts together too.

I’ll have some time in the morning to get that stuff done before we head out.

Then my comms will be spotty as before.

I’m testing out a prep this weekend, you should too.  Dig something out and use it.   Then stack whatever your test reveals that you lack….

nick

 

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Fri. May 6, 2022 – Don’t you.. forget about me. Don’t don’t don’t you…

Forecast for today is sunny and hot.   Last night was cool and wet.   I guess it will depend on what blows in, or through.  I need to not have rain coming down to do the things I need to do…

Yesterday the A/C guys finished about 4 in the afternoon.   Inspection should be today.   There are a couple of things I think they could have done better, but it is done, I didn’t have to do it, and I can tweak stuff as needed.  I’ve left my network rack apart until after the inspection as it lives right next to the air handler.  Better that the inspector can move and see freely.

I did a pickup, more freeze drieds.  At $50-60 per bucket, it’s not a terrible deal and it will jumpstart my BOL stock up.  I will have to add meat.

Found a few more things for the BOL house and dock.   The current plan is to head up Saturday morning, after swim team practice.   I’d rather go up this afternoon.  I’ve got a full load for the truck and a load for the wife’s minivan. SO MUCH STUFF.  And so much to do.

At least the A/C project here is mostly complete.  That is one worry off the list.  Water heater, A/C, and next needs to be the generator.  Yes, still haven’t found an electrician/install company that will come out and do it  after our friend got scared away.  If I knew I could get a propane jet kit for it, I’d take it to the BOL, and get a bigger one for this house.  But I don’t think that’s an option at this point.

I feel the pressure, but remind myself it’s a marathon not a sprint.   Except if it is a sprint, ‘cuz it does feel that way…..

Get busy with your own journey, whether sprint or leisurely stroll across the heath… and stack the stuff high.

n

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Thur. May 5, 2022 – or another made up holiday…

Hot and humid with a side order of moist today.   Same as yesterday, although “hot” is stretching it a bit.  It all feels hot when you can’t retreat into the airconditioning.

Contractor got the old A/C system removed, pulled all the ducts, and set the new major components.   Today he’ll run the rest of the ducts and commission the system.

I brought a small window unit home for the master bedroom, and a small freestanding unit for the hall and the other two bedrooms.   They are a bit undersized for the job, but have knocked 5-8 degrees F off the air temp,  and knocked the humidity way down.  I’ve got the windows open (with screens) in the rest of the house, but used the A/C to make the humidity tolerable for sleeping.  It was 89%RH outside and 50%RH inside when I went to bed.  I have been picking up window units, and the freestanding units when they were cheap, because our most likely disaster involves cooling not heating to make a house comfortable.    The freeze was an aberration, but I had temporary heat too, because I prep.

I could have brought a couple more units home, or the bigger units, but these were the easiest to get to, and it’s only for one night.  I’m dumping the heat into the hall bath, where I have  a box fan in the window to move the heat out of the house.   I’ve discovered that I didn’t bring enough flex duct home for the exhaust side.   This is why we USE our preps.  Next time I’ll know better.  BTW I like having multiple smaller units so that I can pick and choose capacity to match need, and available power.

Today’s plan is to pick up an item or two, mainly another couple of buckets of freeze dried emergency food.  Yesterday I got a bunch of stuff for the BOL, including a couple of extension poles.  I have several and use them for antenna mounts.   I figured a couple more, particularly extra tall and sturdy ones, would be worth having.

My ridiculously heavy fence pipes were dropped off yesterday at the BOL.   I need to set the corners around the garden this weekend.  We’re supposed to head up there and work through Mother’s Day.   One of my goals is to get something, anything, in the ground in the garden.  Even if it gets eaten by deer, I need to see if stuff will grow there.

And that should be enough planning to tempt the fates…

Find a gap and fill it.   Get your garden started.   While you are buying seed, buy extra and stack it.

nick

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Wed. May 4, 2022 – Star Wars Day

Hot and humid, slight chance of rain today.  Yesterday was very nice, although hot and humid.

I didn’t do any work in the attic, as it was 90 degrees out, and hotter than that in the attic.  And I am regretting that decision today.   HVAC guy is supposed to be here at 730AM to begin the rip and replace.  Right after getting the kids out the door, I’ll be up in the attic clearing a path for the work.

I don’t know what the day will be like, I won’t have air conditioning at home, so I probably won’t stick  around.  I might head to my secondary location and load up the portable A/C units to bring back, so we can be cool this evening if the guys don’t get finished.  I definitely have some pickups to do as well, in the early afternoon, and there is always some auction stuff to get sorted and organized.  If it ain’t one thing, it’s another.

All that adds up to short shrift today.

Stack something, even if it’s just a bad attitude.  And may the Force be with you.

n

 

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Tues. May 3, 2022 – about to get even busier…

Forecast says “clear” for the next two days at least.   Monday started out very gusty, with spatters of rain while I was putting the kids in the car, but it soon cleared up.   Today should be clear all day, but I’m sure it will be humid and hot.

Because I’ll be doing some work in the attic.   HVAC guy came yesterday and did whatever poking around he needed to do to get the job actually started.  I’ve got a feeling it will be about 80% of what we want, it’s costing more than the luxury system quote from two years ago, and I think the work will be pretty haphazard.   BUT, he got the unit we needed, and the approved ductwork, and the system has been patched and babied along for two extra years past its failure point.   I NEED to get new stuff installed.  And for that to happen, I need to clear space in the attic for them to work.   That will be … difficult and a pain in my sweaty backside.

On top of that, I have the normal weekly stuff to do, and I am supposed to be taking stuff to auction today and tomorrow.   Which probably will not happen if I’m in the attic all day.

I did get a few things done yesterday.  Did a billable half day of work for my client.  AT&T has pushed all the conduit to his property, they just need to get fiber in it, and make the final several hundred foot push to the house.   It looks like they  hope to light up the rest of his neighbors too at some point.   There are lots of drops along the way to his house.

More food got put away.   The $2/pound pork loin got turned into three roasts, and one got eaten for dinner.  The others joined their piggy friends in freezer camp.   I opened a can of cajun style lima beans as a side, didn’t tell anyone what they were besides “beans” and not only did they get eaten, my wife actually called them good.   It must have been the butter and bacon crumbles.

Also got 40 pounds of flour into buckets.  20 pounds per 5 gallon bucket, a paper plate, and a couple of hand warmers to eat the O2.   Those buckets will go to the BOL.  My wife notably didn’t say anything about the 40 pounds of flour sitting in the living room until I could pack it.   I think she’s coming around to the idea of shortages.  It would be hard not to given the news and predictions from every direction.  Yet there will be people crying that ‘nobody told us’.   I’M telling you, there will be shortages, and some people are going to be very hungry, both here, and pretty much everywhere else.   Dust Bowl, Great Depression, soup kitchen levels of hungry, only without the civility of a homogeneous society.  That last point should be top of your mind too.

Ammo prices have come down slightly and availability has increased.  I’m even seeing sales on large quantities.  Some places have complete uppers for sale again too.  If you’ve been waiting, this is as good a time as any.

ATF has new rules ready to go into effect.   We may be facing whatever comes with what we’ve got.   And something bad, really bad, is coming.   The DHS created a department to police thought and word.   That’s how far we’ve come, and the direction we’re going.  They didn’t ‘float a trial balloon.’  They created it and staffed it.  Just like that.  With no lead up or indication ahead of time.  Once we’re on a war footing, even the token resistance from conservatives will be stifled in the name of the war effort.  It’s all happened before, it can happen again.

So stack it high. And hide it well.  You’ll need it.

 

nick

 

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Mon. May 2, 2022 – so there I was, no sh!t…..

Pretty much the same as yesterday, lots of humidity, some small amount of moisture from the sky, and some sun to keep things a bit too hot… that’s my forecast anyway.  It would be nice if the rain held off.

Stayed in Houston this weekend despite having been away from the BOL too long, and having stuff up there that needs to be done.

So I was motivated to work my list here at home.

Got the wall closed up where the water heater used to be.  It’s just temporary, because we’ll need to get back in there when the house gets re-piped with pex.  And in theory, there will be a cabinet in front of the wall patch so you can’t even see it.  It will probably be the same as now in 5 years, if I’m honest about it.

Got the bird netting up over my blueberry <s>bushes</s>  sticks.  I’ve got berries on a couple of the plants already, so it was time.   That net is so nasty to work with, it gets stuck on literally everything and you can barely see or feel it.  We don’t think of netting as a weapon, but the Romans used nets in the Colosseum.   I think there might be a use for stronger netting inside a fence, for example, as a defensive measure.   You’re gonna get tangled up but good, especially if you don’t expect it to be there.

Got one raised bed cleaned up, two bags of dirt added, and zukes and peas planted.   Got another cleaned up, added the two bags of dirt, but they were wet and mucky so I’ll wait to plant until today or tomorrow when it’s dried out a bit.   I removed and potted several ‘volunteer’ trees from the bed.   I’m pretty sure they are the ornamental chinese cherry we have along the fence, and if they survive, I’ll find somewhere to put them.

I’ve got one more raised bed to clean up and plant, and I’ll save a couple of ‘volunteer’ oak saplings from that bed too.   I’ve got space for trees at the BOL.

Did some weeding, pruned the apple tree.   The peach needs some pruning too.   I cut all the dead branches out of the potted grapefruit and got rid of the dead lime.  There is room for another raised bed on the side of the house now that the orange and grapefruit trees are gone.  I’ll have to think a bit about that.  I have some plastic tubs that would make good beds but they look bad.  It’s basically next to the neighbor’s driveway and right outside their kitchen window so I have to consider the appearance out of neighborliness.

Wife and child returned from camp, much dirty laundry was piled on the machines.  Both of them had a good time.

This week will be more catch-up locally, and pickup of some more stuff for the BOL.  It’s mostly lighting this time, but also a gas powered chainsaw.   There are some big limbs and trees that need to come down at the BOL.   I have a dozen non-running saws, and it’s time to just buy a new one that doesn’t need fixing.   I have enough projects.

Speaking of projects, I picked up a 12v fan for a car radiator for $6.   I have been picking up 12v stuff when it’s cheap and useful.  It will go in the pile of “solar system” stuff.   Seems like a good idea to have some things that run on 12v natively if we ever end up on the solar for any length of time.

Along those lines, I’ve been rotating my charger and topping up all my random 12v batteries this weekend.  I have a matched set of three that stay connected to a smart charger/maintainer, but I also have a bunch that I’ve been lax about charging.  They are big industrial lead acid batteries that I got at auction a year or more ago.  They’ll be part of the solar project if I can find a reliable charge controller for the right price.  I’ll keep rotating through them all of this week.

There’s always more to do.

—

The title is a classic form of story telling, common to soldiers, cops, and others who were in the right place to get a good tale…  I’m sure there must be some good stories out there… this being the anniversary week of the Rodney King Riots in LA.   They were one of the formative events in my prepping journey.  Watching the city burn from your front porch while the smoke blows in through the door will focus your attention on safety and security issues like very few other things could.  Lots of people were ready, I was not.  I didn’t have enough guns or ammo, something I never really want to feel again.

Stack something today.  One or all of the ‘three Bs’, a skill, or a contact, doesn’t matter, just DO it.

n

 

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