Month: December 2025

Cool and clear, warming later. I hope. It was nice at the BOL this morning, a bit chilly but the sun was beating down. I was sweating while hanging Christmas lights. I’m hoping for similar here in Houston today.

Got up reasonably early. Did stuff. Little stuff, but mostly stuff that needed to be done. The extra Christmas lights on the dock went up when the mower didn’t start… no idea why, no time to troubleshoot or recharge the battery. Eventually drove home and did the thing I needed to do here.

Today I’m taking the truck in for a look-see at the drive line and rear end. I noticed a small visible wobble, really small, in the rear wheel that was hit, and there is a slight pull to the right. Getting it checked out is probably prudent.

Before that though, I’ve got a pickup to do, or maybe more than one, and some stuff that needs to be moved to the shop. I’ll have to leave the truck at the repair shop overnight, so I need to do some stuff today.

Other than that it is another normal day here at Casa de Nick.

Stack!

nick

Cold again, and probably overcast too. Maybe even some misty moisture from the sky, because that’s how yesterday ended up. I expect more of the same.

I did my pickups and chatted with a couple of my auction guys. The generator I picked up is worn but they are usually straightforward to fix. More than once it’s just been low oil cutoff that was the problem. The guys are amazed that new players keep joining the auction resale business. It’s tough, even for established players. New guys don’t stand a chance in this environment.

Hope springs eternal and reselling looks like easy money from the outside. We’ll see if they learn as they go and make the changes they need to make. I doubt it, based on what I’ve seen over the last few years.

I got a couple of decorations out last night, before full dark. I’ll try to get a few more out today, but my main goal will be pickups, and if the rain holds off, loading the truck for a trip to the BOL. I scored a couple of auto darkening welding helmets for $5 each from one of the new auctions. One was a Harbor Freight model, but the other was Lincoln Electric (ie. real welding company). They tried to not include them on the invoice, but I called them on it. They sent a new invoice with the helmets included, and the oscillating tool that they also took off the original invoice.

Sometimes stuff doesn’t sell for what it should, especially for a new auction house. That’s how auctions work. It could have been a mistake, but that’s a whole lot less likely than they just didn’t want to give it away. Sorry but the business doesn’t work that way. It will be interesting to talk with them today and see where their heads are at.

If the weather is good, we might head to the BOL tonight. If not, then tomorrow. I haven’t been up in too long, and I’d like to get the Christmas decorations and lights set up there too. It looks good to be part of the community, and it lets us have two trees. The tree at the lake is entirely decorated with glass ornaments that we don’t have an emotional attachment to. The one at home has all our fun and precious ornaments.

Taking the time to build the memories and find joy is important.

It’s just as important as stacking up stuff.

nick

Raining or not, it’ll be chilly. It was raining when I went to bed. I really hope it dries out today, I’ve got a ton of stuff to move around with the pickup truck. Yesterday stayed grey all nay, with a bit of mist later in the afternoon. It didn’t get much into the 60sF without the sun, and was mid 50sF for most of the day and night.

I did several pickups yesterday, and did a bunch more moving, cleaning, and organizing at home. It’s slow going but it is going. Even something like unboxing the 3d printer and putting it in place doesn’t seem like much, but it means getting the box off the floor, and unlocking the potential of having the dang thing in the first place. No point in spending the money and never using it. Plus, if it was set up, and I was even a little familiar with designing a part and then printing it, I’d have been able to print a mounting plate for the cam I hung last week.

The original metal mounting plate got separated from the cam and disappeared. I ended up drilling holes in the cam body and running screws directly through it and into the house soffit. Not ideal for a couple of reasons. Printing a plate probably wouldn’t have taken as long as figuring out where to drill, getting set up, and actually drilling into the camera. AND it wouldn’t have risked the guts of the camera. Custom one-off manufacturing is the perfect use for a 3d printer.

Anyhow, today I’ll do a couple of pickups, mainly the inverter generator, and at least one run to my shop. You’ll notice I didn’t get the truck to the mechanic yet… that’s still on the list but since it seems to be running and driving fine, it’s farther down.

Work avoidance, I’m a past master.

Stack something, or do something, or learn something. Or embrace the power of ‘and’…

nick