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Month: July 2026

Fri. July 31, 2026 – think I’ll do some stuff today

But it will be hot, so I probably won’t do them outdoors. Hot AND humid. It’s summer, in the swamp, so it really shouldn’t surprise anyone. It was well over 100F yesterday and will be today too. Still been cooler this summer than a couple years ago. Doesn’t mean I love the heat or don’t reserve the right to b!tch about it.

Cut my hair and did my other personal grooming then spent the morning doing auction stuff. Almost bought a sea container the day before. Should have. The seller, an ISD, set so many requirements to bid that no one was bidding. I got scared about moving it and basically only threw out an opening bid, so the winner got a 20 ft conex for $130. They usually go for $1200. Several 40ft containers also sold for no money. I can’t know what the other bidder would have bid if I’d stayed in, but it does suck to see one go for that little. And naturally as soon as I lost I figured out where to put it and what it would cost to get it there.

Picked up the kid at 3pm and then switched trucks and did my work at the rent house. Swapped out the attic fan in the 140 degree attic. If it cools it at all that will help cool the house. Clearly traditional construction venting does not do what they think it will if the roof was 150F on the underside. The house has soffit vents and whirlygig* roof vents so it should vent. Doesn’t.

Today I’ll do a couple of pickups, one for me, one for stuff to sell in August, and one for the next Hamfest. I might do some shopping for the BOL window project too. Not sure if I’ll be at home or head up to work at the BOL this weekend. Since I’m not doing all the things people thought I didn’t do anyway, I might as well head up and do something for me. It’s a bit grey since they benefit too, but I didn’t put padlocks on the freezers to keep them from benefiting from my previous efforts to keep the family fed.

The sad thing is I don’t have to padlock what I know they won’t even consider using. They’ll just shop. It really is an XX thing I think. W bought 10 pounds of chicken legs a couple of days ago for some reason, so we had under cooked but burned grilled chicken for dinner… D2 was effusive in her praise and thanked W for making dinner. Twist the knife kid. D1 might be starting to realize something is wrong.

All I can really do is what I do most of the time, just a whole lot less of it. And stacking. I’m still doing that.

nick

*technically a turbine vent

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Thur. July 30, 2026 – more rent house, more work

And it’ll be hot and humid too… because Summer in Houston. No other reason. None really needed. Nor for the weather across the pond, or across the continent. We’re always being told weather isn’t climate when we point out that it’s cold when in should be hot. Just like racism, it goes both ways. I expect it to be over 100F today, and I’ll be in an attic for part of that.

Yesterday was hot too, but seemed a bit cooler for most of the day. Still got over 100F. Maybe the humidity was lower. There was some cloud cover for part of the morning that helped keep it cooler.

I got some stuff done. Not a huge chunk, but a few things. I’ll get a few more done today. The attic fan at the rent house is the big job o the day, so if that gets done I’ll call it a success. Some other stuff should happen too, but we’ll see.

Adding some meat to the freezers should happen too. Always good to stack food.

nick

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Wed. July 29, 2026 – the list got a tiny bit shorter..

Hot and humid. Over 100F today probably. Likely. It was over yesterday, even if we did get a bit of cloudiness later in the day. Still hot at midnight though.

I did auction stuff in the morning, then drove down to where NASA is for an auction pickup. 6 things to sell at my hobby show next month. Dumped the trash and debris out of my truck too. Then it was home for an unpleasant if tasty dinner. Everyone was waiting for me to make something but meal planning and meal preparation are two things that I guess I don’t do. It’s getting harder to hold the line.

I did stop at Goodwill looking for pants/shorts/high tech shirts/ or even shoes on my way home from dumping the trash. Found 3 columbia or PFG shirts and a couple of audio books. One was Orson Scott Card, apparently a short story in the Enderverse. I’ve never seen the written version so it will be neat to hear it first. And while I was sitting at the computer for the last couple of days I ripped about 40 CDs I got for $5. fre:ac audio encoder seems to be a LOT faster than Music Player used to be. They were mostly jazz and soul but had some good related stuff too. Physical media – own it.

Today I’ll work the list. Maybe bring a big tv home from the shop. We took the 60″ off the living room wall and took it to the BOL, so we have room for one of the new ones. I might try to fit the 86″ after all, just because I won’t have to do an upgrade later if I do. Can’t get much bigger than that, not in my living room anyway.

And I’d like to make a Costco run. Stacks can always use more…

nick

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Tues. July 28, 2026 – that devil list isn’t getting shorter

Still hot and humid. National map has us in the clear for the next couple of days. Clear HOT sun. Summer. Just gotta survive it.

Did almost nothing yesterday. I was wiped out without enough sleep and a couple of fitful one hour naps doesn’t cut it. Plus, I worked hard enough to lose about 3 pounds. Gotta get that back.

Today I’ll do the other stuff I didn’t do yesterday, mainly a dump run and a pickup.

And I’ll work the list.

Stacks ain’t gonna stack themselves.

nick

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Mon. July 27, 2026 – home, so working the other list

And it will be hot, wet, and sticky. Because HOUSTON! Cooler at the BOL, but I’ll be home this week and it will be Summer. Details mixed and variable.

Spent the day Sunday working on the window install and a couple of other things. W stayed to help a few hours longer than she originally thought she could. There are some things I just need help with. And she did those things. Then I did more work after she left.

Today I’ve got a very early kid taxi commitment, then possibly a pickup south of Houston. I won some stuff to sell at my upcoming hobby show, and pickup is this week. I’m sure I’ll find other stuff to do today, but I’m not sure what yet. Probably I’ll end up at my secondary location where I can put stuff in the dumpster because I’ve got a load of mixed debris in the truck. Then I’ll probably move some stuff to the shop.

I’m talking to a new auction company about doing a consignment of all the stuff I’d normally send to my buddy. I hope they will take it. Time to clear some space and make some money.

And all the usual stuff will be happening too.

Stack.

nick

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Sun. July 26, 2026 – more work today

Hot. Yep. But a bit less humid than I feared. Still soaked to the skin working outside. More like that today too. Sunny and in the middle 90sF…

Did a lot of work to get the roof watertight until I can get the roofing guys here to tell me how to fix it for real. W got the ceramic tile surrounding the old hearth up. I’ll still have to grind some but she chiseled up a lot. And she learned to cut the grass and run the mower. She moved all the saved bricks to a pallet near my “resource piles.”

Today I’ll finish the trim out around the window and secure it in place permanently. We figured out a trim detail for the old soffit to integrate with the new window, and I have a plan for the trim details. I don’t have casing for the inside so that will have to wait until next time.

She’s leaving early to meet the kids coming back from their weekend stuff, and I’ll keep working until dark like usual.

I’ll be pulling more stuff from the stacks to finish the install. Stuff coming off the stacks, who would have thunk it?

Stack all the good things.

nick

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Sat. July 25, 2026 – at the BOL, work to do…

Gonna be hot and humid up here. National forecast shows clear today and tomorrow, but that just means sun and humidity. Yesterday was sunny in Houston but I’m pretty sure we stayed under 100F at my house. W said she hit a little rain on the way up, but only sprinkles. Localized weather is always a crapshoot in this part of the world.

Yesterday was mostly spent doing office stuff, but then I spent more than an hour and several hundred dollars at Lowes buying trim and flashing, and stuff I think I’ll need up here. Didn’t make it to the chiropractor, and I’m hoping I don’t end up regretting that.

Because today is going to involve some work. Mowing the grass will happen Sunday afternoon, but working on the window and roof repairs will be a priority. I hope to be dried in, ie. weathertight, by the end of today. That will still leave the finished roof, and exterior wall finishes (since we don’t have the stuff, or even a plan,) but as long as the housewrap is on and the flashing is done, it’ll keep the rain out.

I’m going to need professional help, or at least advice, on the metal roof repair. And someone, **cough**, will have to decide what to do about the little bit of exterior wall that needs covering…

The list is long, the spirit is mostly willing, but the arms are weak…

Stack. It’s easier than working.

nick

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Fri. July 24, 2026 – More Bertha? Maybe not

Who knows what today’s weather will be like. We weren’t supposed to get much from Bertha, but some parts of the Houston area got more than an inch of rain. We got a bad thunderstorm but it didn’t last. It did knock down the temperature. It was only 78F when I went to bed. So today could be more of the same, or it could be just a summer day here in the swamp. We’ll see.

I did a lot yesterday. Got my tenant taken care of. Did a pickup in Alvin and another on my way home, while driving through storms that were pretty strong. It was dark as night in places. And a lot of water fell from the sky. Like every t storm, we had localized flooding and high water, but it didn’t last. Finally got home in time for a brief power outage. Changed the batteries in the lanterns, but that was about it. I’m critically short of AA batteries though. I’ve been trying to get to Costco and return a whole package that went bad in storage, and to get more for the stockpile, but didn’t make it yet. So I used the D cell lanterns. I’ve gotten several boxes of D cells in the auctions lately. Big and heavy, but they do last a long time.

Today I might make it to Costco. And to Lowes to get the trim I need for the BOL window project. If it’s not raining, W and I are going up this weekend. Both kids have other plans with other people, so we’re free to do what we want. And I want to wrap up that project.

Or we’ll stay home and work the list here. I’m still on strike so there are parts of the list I’m ignoring, since I don’t do anything around here… Kid mentioned how high the grass in the back yard was last night. Yup. ‘Cuz I don’t do anything around here. I don’t know if I can hold out. It’s in my nature to just fix stuff when it’s wrong. I have to resist dozens of times a day even on little stuff like cleaning the sink or picking up something on the floor. Petty. Yup.

Meanwhile, stacking continues, albeit at a slower pace. But the journey is the goal…

nick

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Thur. July 23, 2026 – more HVAC

Still hot, gonna be 100+F today. And humid too. We’ve had such a nice mild spring and summer that it’s a bit shocking when it goes back to normal. Good money for the HVAC guys.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t find a real definitive problem with my rent house HVAC. I think just age and filth combined to cause an issue. But I’m meeting my new HVAC guy there today to see what he says. Ask a barber if you need a haircut…

I also did a couple of pickups. Got a case of “ear candling” cones that will make excellent fire starters at the BOL. They had 70K of them so they were giving them away by the case. It’s a lifetime’s worth.

Today, besides the HVAC, I’ve got to go to Alvin to pickup some stuff. That’s a bunch of driving and I have to be back to get the kid home from her school thing. If I can, I’ll swing by a second pickup and get that stuff too. It’s a mix of resale, preps, and household stuff.

There’s always more to do.

Stack so you can save a little time, you’ll need it to do something later.

nick

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Wed. July 22, 2026 – more A/C issues, because it is HOT…

I’m really hoping the storm in the Gulf of America drops our temps a bit. Tuesday was a bit less humid, and the difference was dramatic. Less humidity and less heat would both be welcome as I work in the rent house’s attic.

I spent Tuesday putting away A/C units and doing some other cleanup. And I repackaged 20 pounds of freeze dried candy (like puffy exploded skittles) into smaller bags. Turns out D2 and her friends love the stuff, so I’m giving as much as she wants to them. I picked it up cheap to put with my other freezedried food, but 20 pounds is a LOT.

Today I’ve got pickups to do, and maybe some grocery shopping, but that will have to wait until I’ve checked out the issue at the rent house. Gotta love getting a text at 10:30pm that their air isn’t working. Tenant is pretty chill, and I’ll take one of my roll around units with me, but it needs to be promptly addressed. The list never gets shorter.

But that’s life. Who must do the difficult things? He who can. Today that means me.

Stack. Especially knowledge, as it can preserve all your other stacks, most importantly, money.

nick

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