Month: August 2025

Summer will soon be over. Since the kids are back in school, for them and us it already is. But Summer’s heat lingers. At least for us. It was hot again, and humid, and will be again today. Highs still in the mid 90sF but lows might fall into the mid 70sF. Humidity to match the temp. Lovely.

So I did get stuff done. And I confirmed to myself that if I have auction pickups, I’m not getting much else done. Sure, I’m getting out of the office, and talking to people. I invited 2 people to come to my hobby meetings just yesterday. But then I only had a couple of hours to work on moving out of one of my storage units. It’s clear that I need to adjust the ratio of auction pickups vs doing real work from the list.

Today I’ve only got one pickup. Ha. But I’ve also got a trip to the bank, and dropping off a check to a landlord. Wife and D2 are supposed to be headed to the BOL for the weekend tonight, with me and D1 following Sunday. D1 had some things to do between now and then, so someone needs to stay home with her and that someone is me. Lovely.

Not much in the way of prepping happened this week. I received the propane conversion kit for my second Honda e3000is generator. Maybe I’ll get that installed Saturday. Or more likely, I’ll use the time to close out that storage unit. Gah. That wasn’t really on the list for this month. Saving money is a good thing though. So is going through the unit and selling off the stuff, if I can actually get that happening.

So much to do. So little time spent productively. Working on it though. Stack something.

nick

Hot and wet. Jumid even. But hopefully no rain. Someone got a lot of rain yesterday but despite the clouds and the thunder, it wasn’t me.

I COULD have done my planned work after all. I had planned to empty a storage unit. Lots of trips back and forth. Probably didn’t have enough time to do it all in one day, but I would be farther along than having done nothing.

I really did do a bit more than nothing, but today I’ve got to do more than that. Unless it’s raining today. Which it could be.

Or if we have site issues. That mess ate a couple of hours I won’t be getting back. Yes, I did learn some things. Hopefully they are things I won’t need again, but with my hobby site as well, who knows?

Learning things is a good thing. So is saving money, and selling stuff for cash. And stacking. Don’t forget to stack.

nick

added- some days I feel like I need a new tag — “barely adequate”

Tengo calor hoy… and humidity too. It was a bit cooler yesterday with the overcast there most of the day, but it still got to the mid 90sF in the afternoon. It was a slow sleepy day for me.

I did one pickup on the west side of town. Ran by the shop and unloaded some stuff. Hit the reStore in NW Houston since I was fairly close. I’m still looking for upper cabinets for the laundry area at the BOL. No luck though.

Someone new is in charge of pricing and stock is piling up. WAY too high. There were other people walking around looking, but no one was buying. This is typical of thrift type stores. FFS, you get the product for free. Yes, you need to pay the bills, but you start out with the advantage of people bringing you the product to sell. You really don’t have to squeeze it for every penny. Only greed and envy would prompt you to say “if the resellers can buy it, we need to raise prices and get some of that money we’re leaving on the table.”

Then too much stuff accumulates because it is a never ending river of stuff, and it’s not selling fast enough, so they lower prices back down. Then it moves.

Something similar happens in the auctions. New money enters the game, they don’t know what stuff usually sells for, so they bid higher than the regulars. They still get a good deal, but not as good as usual. ‘Sold’ prices go up. If the new money is trying to become a reseller, they fail soon because they’ve paid too much for their inventory. Then prices fall back to normal. I’ll admit, seeing the flood, and the usual prices, has really warped my sense of what stuff should cost. I rarely shop in stores anymore, except for food, unless it’s something I need right away. I know if I wait, it’s almost guaranteed to eventually come up in the secondary market.

Today I’ll maybe do one more pickup, and if the weather is obliging, I might close out another storage unit. They are bleeding me and I need to make a change. Plus, I need to turn inventory into cash, so I can stack that, and the things it buys.

Stack what you need.

nick

Hot and humid. It’s been slightly less of both, and I mean slightly, but maybe we’ve turned the corner on Summer. Another two weeks or so and I’ll be sure. Given how long and mild Spring was, and that we really didn’t have many days over 100F, I shouldn’t be complaining about the heat and humidity. But I will anyway.

Did my stuff yesterday. Returned the rental trailer. Hit two thrift stores that I’ve never been in, but they were right next to the Uhaul store. I got some LP records (and was reminded that LP stands for Long Playing) and a couple of shirts. Didn’t take long and I need some shirts and some new shorts.

Then I switched trucks, grabbed a couple of tools, and headed over to the shop to get the ebay industrial item ready for pickup. Good thing I got the timing right, because just as I was tightening the last ratchet strap, the truck pulled up. Totally unexpected, because they were supposed to give me a two hour heads up… but my phone number was wrong on the paperwork. Anyway, got it shipped out, used the special code to complete the sale on the ebay app, and the money should hit my account shortly. One down, many to go.

Today I’ll work the list. Plenty to pick and choose from. It’s just a matter of what is doable, what fits the time, and what catches my eye or is MOVED to the top of the list. And something usually moves without my intervention.

Anyway, keep working to improve your situation, and keep stacking what you need to do so.

nick

Normally hot, normally humid. It was a beautiful clear day Sunday, but it was HOT. Loading out, the wind felt like opening an oven door. I could use a bit of cooler today.

I had a good last day of the show. Didn’t win any door prizes, but did do good business. One day to cover my expenses, one half day the same, and one good day to make the show… plus lots of good fellowship and conversation. Just like my hamfest I’m usually the last man standing with stuff to sell, and the last man to leave the site. There is almost always someone to sell some stuff too, and chat with as I pack up that is thankful I stuck around.

Today I’ll take the trailer back and get the large item ready to ship. I didn’t get a time for the shipper to pick up yet, but I told the buyer that it would be ready Monday afternoon at the earliest. I can probably do some sorting and stacking once it’s on a pallet.

Getting out and among people is a good thing. Having interests outside of stuff on teh intarwebs is a good thing. It’s especially good if the group is varied and widely distributed geographically, politically, and economically. It’s a reality check against doomer bias and being in an echo chamber. Get out there, do something fun.

And stack.

nick