Month: January 2025

Fri. Jan. 31, 2025 – a whole month gone…

And still the same. Mostly. Clammy and damp. Cool bordering on cold. Probably warming later to shorts weather – for me anyway. It stayed overcast and damp all day Thursday but didn’t rain. Small mercies are still mercies. I’m hoping the trend toward warmer and no rain continues and that we might even see the sun.

I spent all of yesterday at home. I sorted, moved, cleaned, restacked, tested, and put away. Barely made a dent. I did get a clear spot for the Girl Scout cookies, which was the absolute minimum goal. Beyond that I tested some auction items, moved some, and generally puttered. It’s very slow progress. But it is progress.

Today I’ve got a bunch of auction pickups, and they are all over the place. I’ll be driving around a lot more than I like. The worst part is that it’s an item here, an item there… and I probably shouldn’t have bought them, but I did and now I’ve got to get them. They better all be there, and in good condition.

Oh, and it would be nice to get through a week without a major news event. Yes it would indeed.

Barring that though, we’ll just muddle through, staying the course, making any adjustments we see fit to make. And stacking.

nick

Read the comments: 69 Comments

Thur. Jan. 30, 2025 – youtube shorts are the devil…

Cool and damp, but warmer overall. That’s the trend and I don’t need to bet against the trend. I think it made it to 70F yesterday despite the overcast. And it never really rained, although the dew point was making everything wet with condensation. I think we’ll get more of that today.

So I did my pickups for the day, got gas, went to Costco… did some other auction stuff. Moved some stuff around the house to make room for Girl Scout cookies. Yup, it’s cookie season again. Get ready to support your local troop.

The threat of rain did limit some of what I wanted to do. I had some stuff I should have moved to storage, but I didn’t want to get it wet in the back of the truck… or that’s the excuse I’m going with anyway…

Today, after helping to stack cases of cookies, I’ll be moving and cleaning up more stuff. Can’t have all my crep stacked around the house if people are coming to get their cookies. I should have gotten it all taken care of before now, but didn’t. I really need deadlines.

The problem with that as it relates to prepping is that you never know the date of the thing you are prepping for (Y2K being an exception). Most bad things happen suddenly, and while there may have been plenty of warning, the actual event doesn’t usually kick off on a schedule. Some people try to maintain that top level of readiness for any disaster, but I mostly end up trying to maintain a baseline of readiness that meets most needs most of the time, but might leave me short in some specific areas and some specific scenarios. It’s easier my way, and I’m generally comfortable with it, but it may not be good enough for anyone else.

Find a level you are comfortable with, aim to achieve that. Then work to build on that incrementally. Always be working, just maybe not always at a fever pitch.

And stack of course.

nick

Read the comments: 72 Comments

Wed. Jan. 29, 2025 – maybe a bit of a break today

Still cool and wet. Damp at least. This time of year is monotonous and tedious if you like sun. That’s probably true of winter everywhere but Southern California and the desert… We had overcast and misty drizzle most of the day yesterday and I don’t think I saw the sun.

It was a pretty non-stop day. Kids and wife in the morning, doctor visit, client visit, kid taxi, dinner, more kid taxi… just a bit more non-negotiable tasks than usual. Never made it to the grocery store. That’ll be today.

Today should have a bit more flexibility. I have pickups to do, so I’ll be out and about. That helps with grabbing a quick visit to the grocery store. It also helps with stuff like getting gas, and other everyday sort of tasks. I usually try to combine trips and tasks as a way to save time and money. My kid taxi duties are reduced on Mon, Wed, and Fri, so that helps, and D1’s new choice for after-school activity moves her pickup to 5pm from 3pm. That helps a lot by not shortening my afternoon “me” time.

Super compelling content, I know…

The first week of the new administration is just freaking insane. More real change, or attempted change, in one week than in a couple of decades. My only feeling is that it won’t last. It won’t hold up. Too much inertia, too many rice bowls getting slapped out of peoples’ hands. Too much change too fast. On the other hand… lot’s of pent up demand might mean it really does change. For a while anyway. It will revert to the mean. Everything does. Maybe though, the new mean will be lower than the old one. Any thing will be an improvement.

Not a reason to stop stacking though. Stuff is going to be massively disrupted. Preps will help, as they will in any disaster. Disasters are just REALLY quick and massive change after all…

nick

Read the comments: 50 Comments

Tues. Jan. 28, 2025 – still have to think of the year when I type the date..

Cool and wet, again. Winter in Houston. No surprise there. We’re back to normal. Kid asked me what the weather would be today. I told her I rarely look at the forecast, since you can be better than 80% right just by saying it will be like yesterday. That earned me a funny look, but it’s true. It’s rare that the weather changes dramatically from day to day. Give that we live here in the swamp, I was thinking about how few are the times we have to stand in the rain waiting for the bus. Even with heavy misty drizzle counting as rain, it’s still unusual for us to need an umbrella. And that’s pretty weird.

Did my thang yesterday. Finally got to chat with the manager at the auction that stiffed me just before Christmas by not letting me pick up my item a day late. He was surprised I didn’t come in and get it. I told him I tried twice, but got no love. He refunded the total, and then looked to see if they relisted the item or stole it. They did eventually relist it. I’m feeling better about that now. We had a good chat about the business in general, and making money as resellers, and the ecosystem of their part of the secondary economy.

Wife was home sick all day so I ended up doing more kid taxi than normal. Didn’t get to the grocery store. That will have to happen at some point today. Almost out of diet Dr Pepper, and that can’t be allowed to happen…

Today I’ve got more appointments, and I need to swing by my client’s house. He has a video source not working and I need to figure out why. I’m pretty sure I know, it’s happened before. With all the high quality gear in the rack, we have these cheap nasty chinese HDMI audio extractors to pull an analog audio signal out of the HDMI stream for some sources. They don’t last. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a better solution. I’m hoping that’s the issue because I’ve got spares in the truck and it’s an easy fix. It does cause him frustration and a service call, which sux, but it’s every other year or so… so pretty spread out.

That is a general problem that is actually much better than it used to be. Some things you can’t find a good expensive solution or product, only cheap crep. Most things you have a nice range of choices though. This is a significant improvement over the 80s, for example, when it seemed like quality wasn’t available in the US for any price. I can buy high end pro level gear, or cheap chinese crep that does the job, but barely and not forever; or I can choose from a wide selection in between. In this case, the chinese ignore some standards and protections and requirements that more reputable and professional companies can’t ignore, so the cheap crep actually does something that better quality gear won’t do. It’s a tool in the box. Just not a very well built tool.

In any case, my day is full… and other than the grocery store, and making money, and checking up on my health, won’t involve preps. Oh, those are preps. Ok, I’m good!

You all should stack something.

nick

Read the comments: 50 Comments

Mon. Jan. 27, 2025 – …but I did not shoot the deputy…

Cool and wet. Maybe soaking wet. Rained on and off all day yesterday, and into the night. Even if it doesn’t rain today it will be wet from all the rain we’ve been getting. And I think it will rain.

Did some small things, mostly computer related, yesterday. The weather was an impediment to some of what I wanted to do, and so was my motivation. I’m not feeling 100%… and wasn’t up to a bunch of work. Excuses. I’ve got um.

Anyway, today is another day. Get the kids and wife out the door. Get the auction stuff done. Do some domestic bliss. Do something off the list. Rinse and repeat. Do kid taxi stuff. Maybe have dinner with sibling… We have Christmas gifts to exchange after all…

Meanwhile the world turns and the deep state reels in horror… and begins to fight for their lives. I’m sure it will come to bloodshed. Don’t know when or why exactly, but it will.

Prep ye while ye still can.

That’s all I’ve got.

nick

Read the comments: 35 Comments

Sun. Jan. 26, 2025 – that’s not rain…

Wet and cool. Not freezing any more, and certainly not dry. Misty drizzle all day Saturday, and all night, and probably all day today too. Grey and ugly.

I did a couple of things Saturday, but mostly avoided work. I had a pickup to do, a Mr Heater unit and some solar panels, and it was a new auctioneer in an area I don’t usually get too. I decided to hit a couple of estate sales that were in the same area. The sales were a bust, but I found a pocket neighborhood I didn’t even know existed. BIG lots, crappy houses, minutes from a major commuting route, and unincorporated. You’d never know it was there.

I checked it out when I got home, and there wasn’t much for sale, but the prices suggested that other people found it too, recognized the potential, and are willing to pay to get in. It’s like being out in the country, right in town. Unfiltered country, leaf burning, trucks in the yard, “can’t tell me what to do” country, not manicured horse owner county. But two lots down from the guy with a junkyard on his acre plus lot is a $1.6M mansion… it will change and quickly. I’d love to buy a lot there as an investment, but it’s probably already too late. There are still areas like this in the Houston metro area, but they don’t get advertised.

Today I’ll do some more, and less than I hoped.

Wife is working on taxes. We recently found out our accountant died. We didn’t even know she was sick, and we thought she was prepping her assistant to take over when she retired, but it seems not, as her husband just mentions returning any personal paperwork she might have had. It’s a tragedy for her and her family, and just an inconvenience for us, but it was shocking. I’ve been with her for about 30 years… finding someone good who is taking new clients is hard, so my wife is giving it a go, based on the paperwork for the last 10 years. With the solid examples, she thinks she can just keep doing what our CPA was doing, at least for last year and this one. I’m still gonna look for a new accountant.

You never know what life will throw at you. I didn’t have a good backup for this, other than good record keeping and the ability to get online, and to download software. None of us are getting younger, and that includes our business partners, and service providers too. Take a good look at how changes could affect you, and make sure you are ok with what you find.

I’ll add the Mr Heater, and the solar panels to my stacks. I’ll add “find a new accountant” to my list. And I’ll light a candle.

nick

keep stacking.

Read the comments: 46 Comments

Sat. Jan. 25, 2025 – 01252025 – global warmening is doing it’s best to save us from the next ice age

Maybe a bit above freezing this morning? That’s the forecast. We’ll see. At least it does get warmer throughout the day. Melted most of the snow, and caused the snowmen to slump and lose their heads…

I did a big loop and picked up most of what I need to pick up. Small items, mostly for my non-prepping hobby, but also some household stuff. I also spent some time talking with a neighbor, and poking at some stuff I should have sold a long time ago. I tend to focus more on buying and less on selling. I’m working on that…

Today my fervent desire is to get some of the stuff here at the house sorted out. I’ve got stacks to square away, stuff to stack, and stuff to move to storage and elsewhere. If I can get a good flow going, I can knock off a bunch of todo items. It’s overcoming the inertia and getting started that is difficult.

I am almost certain to be derailed or re-tasked by one of the powers that be…

But I will adapt and overcome. And stack.

nick

Read the comments: 42 Comments

Fri. Jan. 24, 2025 – weird week, glad it’s ending…

Cold, dry, and clear. Warming later. I hope. Easy to make predictions, harder to make CORRECT predictions… but warming would be nice.

So another day went by without a massive amount of backlogged tasks finally being cleared. I did manage some domestic bliss. And I put some more Christmas stuff away. Didn’t have any pickups, so I was actually home all day. Did have kid taxi duty, and that ate a few hours.

I had time to make dinner though. Lamb chops. Yum. I had the lamb from Costco to bag and freeze, but half of it had already spoiled. I’m taking that flat back to Costco. I had two flats, both same dates, both same shelf in the fridge, but one stunk. So it’s going back, probably later today. I decided to cook half the other flat for dinner and freeze the rest. Usually I grill the triangle chops, but it was cold out…

I seared them in my cast iron, in fat, oregano, basil, and rosemary, then added chopped baby potatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cover and simmer with a bit of red wine, turning frequently until the potatoes were done. Remove meat and potatoes, make a red wine reduction with the pan drippings and voila’, dinner is served. Chops were medium rare to medium… and it was good. For bread I tried the new shelf stable baguettes from costco. They were pretty good, and are ready in about 10 minutes. We normally like lamb a bit more rare, but I felt better cooking them a bit more this time.

I’ve got a pork rib roast thawing for today or this weekend that I froze in 2018. I’m finally getting down into one of the chest freezers…

Today I’ve got an appointment with my eye doctor, and a couple of pickups to do. And of course, kid taxi later.

Not much time for more domestic bliss. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend…

That’s right, stackin’!!

Don’t be slackin’ (like me)

nick

Read the comments: 59 Comments

Thur. Jan. 23, 2025 – Back to school, ha ha!

Cool, but warming. It was 40F when I went to bed, and I expect similar temps this morning, but I also expect more warming later, and warmer nights. We still have snow on the ground but the streets are all clear and dry except in the deeply shaded areas. It’s supposed to get back to normal winter temps for us by the weekend.

Well, I didn’t get much done. I did auction stuff most of the day, and spent a lot of time messing about online, but didn’t do much actual work. That will have to change today.

I’ve got a lot of house clean up and putting away to do. My own domestic bliss has been piling up too. Thursdays involve a lot of kid taxi duties as well, so I should be busy but not productive. I’m getting kinda tired of being such a slacker. I just have a serious lack of motivation at the moment.

Oh well, I will try to keep plodding on. The stacking is the easy part.

I’m seriously down for the easy way right now.

nick

do the easy stuff. stack.

Read the comments: 46 Comments

Wed. Jan. 22, 2025 – Still some snow on the ground.

Cold again, and still some snow on the ground. Warming later. Wicked Witch of the West inbound (help me I’m melting)… IDK what the final low was, but we didn’t see much below freezing. That’s enough to cause problems here, but really, even here household infrastructure SHOULD be able to take freezing temps. Kinda disgraceful that it can’t.

I didn’t do much of anything other than get caught up on auctions. I did go for a walk later in the day, and I spent almost an hour working with D1 on driving skills. Not super productive, but maybe it will save a life. That would be a pretty good payout.

Oh, and preps paid off when my wife asked is we had a space heater as her desk area was very cold and drafty. Why yes, I do…

Today I’ll do a bit more. I am caught up on auction stuff, and need to not spend the day sitting. I’m sure I’ll find something that needs to be done…

Or stacked.

nick

Read the comments: 63 Comments
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // end of file archive.php // -------------------------------------------------------------------------------