Font Size:     

Month: August 2026

Fri. Aug. 21, 2026 – first day of my event, I’m busy

It’ll be hot and sweaty as we set up our show. Most of the hard work will happen in the morning, when it should be under 90F, but I’m sure we’ll be doing plenty after it hits 100F later in the day. Yesterday was REALLY humid. IDK the official figure, but sweat was not drying, and it was oppressively wet. Even at midnight.

Spent the day getting ready for my show. Trailer, load, display stuff, and family time… it was a long day.

Today will be even longer. I’ll start by getting ice for the coolers for the crew to stay hydrated, then head to the venue. Setup starts at 9am and we hope to have attendees start moving in around 11am. Technically the show is open at 2pm but a lot of good business will have already happened by then. I get a late start setting my own stuff up, as I’m helping others most of the morning.

Hopefully I’ll sell some stuff and make some money. That’s the goal anyway. My hobbies are supposed to be self funding, so I do one sale in March for ham stuff, and one in August for the other thing.

It’s real world networking and a look at some folks from out of state too. It was very valuable during the covidiocy to see and talk with people from other areas. I’ll be interested to hear what people think about the economy.

Intel. Stack some of that too.

nick

Read the comments: 56 Comments

Thur. Aug. 20, 2026 – lots to do today

And it will be hot while I do it. And humid, although it’s been a little bit less humid than last week. Still freaking hot though. Over 100F again yesterday and probably later today. Should make moving all the bins into a trailer a swamp-ish hell.

Did some prep for my non-prepping hobby event, and some recovery from my weekend. Getting older has some limits and downsides, but it does beat not getting older.

Today I’ll be doing a little shopping, some final computer work, and then getting and loading a uHaul trailer. I expect it to take all day, and probably most of the evening. I might need a break to cool down… or two. We’ll see. I can still grind if I have to.

This show and my hamfest are my two big chances to be part of the world. It’s easy to retreat and mentally and physically withdraw from people and society. It takes me effort to engage, but it is worth it.

While we prep, it’s still important to live in the world. Mainly because the EOTW rarely comes, but our lives are what we do while living. Don’t miss out.

But still stack, in case.

nick

Read the comments: 77 Comments

Wed. Aug. 19, 2026 – and now I’m behind

Hot and humid, because still Summer in Houston. We could do with a bit of rain, especially at the BOL. But it will probably be the same today as yesterday, 100+F, and high humidity.

Started yesterday at the BOL but didn’t do much besides pack up and leave. On the way home I went by the rent house and dropped off cedar boards for the fence repairs. Went by my secondary location and dropped off some construction debris and trash in the dumpster, then hit Costco for gas, and Lowes to check the ‘cull’ pile for more cedar boards. They had them, as well as fence pickets and a lot of nice 1x lumber. Dunno why they’ve had such good stuff in the cull pile, but for 50% off, I’ll take it.

Hit the chiropractor after that, and went home. Napped almost immediately. Some leftover beef roast for dinner, and I’m a new man.

So today I need to focus on getting ready for my event this weekend. I’ve got a lot of stuff to dig out and pull to the front of the shop for ease of loading on Thursday.

And all the normal things need to happen too. My client wants me to come by and diagnose some ongoing issues. I’m thinking aging gear, but I could be wrong. It’ll have to wait until next week though.

Always be working, and stacking, but also, don’t forget about living.
nick

Read the comments: 47 Comments

Tues. Aug. 18, 2026 – homeward bound, I hope

Hot and humid. Still dry too. Crunchy grass. It got well above 100F yesterday and was still 84F at midnight. There was a breeze which helped. I mostly worked indoors, but going out to cut stuff was like an oven. Probably the same today too.

Did my interior trimout for the window. I have two “soldier course” bricks to mortar back into place and the project will be finished. I might try to do that today, depending on my back mostly. Had some drama with the A/C in yesterday’s comments, so I didn’t get home last night.

My plan for today is to sleep, get up, maybe do the brick work, and then head home. I’ve got a ton of stuff to do to get ready for my event, and I feel a little behind. A lot of it is “winging it” and just doing what I did last year, but I do have some new stuff to sell too. That should at least get a quick checkout.

We’ll see what actually happens. It’s always something…

So stack and prep, then the big things turn out to be smaller things, and the drama goes away.

nick

Read the comments: 69 Comments

Mon. Aug. 17, 2026 – still working at the BOL

Still hot. Still humid. Still no rain. Grass is crunchy, and something is seriously distressing the peach tree. I’m hoping it’s only heat and drought. More of the same expected for today.

I spent most of yesterday doing the trimout for the exterior of the window. My general plan of attack took some finagling but I got it done in the end. I’ll take off two boards and put the last two bricks back into place today. I also got started on the interior trimout, but most of that will happen today.

Which is the plan. Sleep for a bit, because of the muscle relaxer, then get busy putting the wall back together from the inside. If it was drywall, it would be straightforward, but it’s paneling. We’ve painted all the paneling in the house (all shades of grey that my wife insists are different but all look blue-grey to me) and I saved paneling whenever we took it down, so I just have to find pieces that match and can be cut to fit. W will paint later.

Everything takes longer and costs more… so stack while it’s cheap and available. And then you’ll have plenty to work on later.

nick

Read the comments: 66 Comments

Sun. Aug. 16, 2026 – time to make some progress

It’ll be hot. Of that I’m certain. And humid. It was plenty hot here yesterday, although the breeze helped. Even at midnight it was still high 80sF. In fact I think it may be hotter here than at home.

In the morning I slept, did the things I needed to do, and finally got on my way. Did my pickup, and the blower is in rough shape. Didn’t try starting it yet, but it’s not one of the expensive models. It might not be worth the time to replace all the worn out things. Then I hit a Lowes store on my way and bought more trim. I’ll put that to use today.

Plan is… do more work on the window. Start outside before the sun really bakes that side of the house, then move into the airconditioned living room to work inside later. We’ll see if it goes that easily. If not, I’ll find something to do. Plenty to choose from.

Always be working to improve. Stack what resources you’ll need to keep working.

nick

Read the comments: 49 Comments

Sat. Aug. 15, 2026 – working at the BOL today

Hot and humid in Houston today, but I’m hoping for a bit cooler at the BOL. At least there should be a breeze off the lake. It was hot, over 100F, and humid yesterday, with clear sky to start, scattered clouds and even overcast later, but it was clear again by dusk. It even sprinkled ever so lightly for about 15 minutes in the late afternoon. That didn’t help the humidity.

I did not do much in the morning, preferring to nap and try to get my sleep cycle back to school schedule. As it’s almost 1am when I’m writing this, I’m not going to be super successful. I did get a bunch of small things done in the afternoon. I spent a couple of hours cleaning my project up. It still needs work, but I’ll leave it at the BOL and finish up there.

I had cleaning stuff out, and the truck was in the shade so I washed the Ranger too. Well, that’s maybe an exaggeration. I used water and a red scotch pad to do a very crude ‘clay bar’ of the body, and wheels but not the bed. I’m swapping out the bed, so didn’t bother. The paint on the truck is a little dull, but if I get time and motivation, I’ll buff it later. The roof is not in good shape as the clear coat seems to have failed, and there are big spots that look similar on the hood as well. It is 23 years old, lived outside the entire time, and I don’t wash my vehicles very often.

At least it’s not a GM with the paint peeling off to reveal the galvanizing underneath. They all seem to fail that way anywhere near the ocean.

Anyway, I’ll hit Lowes for some trim, mainly window casing, and then do my pickup before 2pm. That’s my hard limit on when I leave, I have to be in Tomball by then. I’ll continue on to the BOL where a big list awaits… although I’m mainly concerned with mowing and doing more finish work on the window install.

The list gets longer, and I get older, and I still find myself getting distracted by sidequests.

Stack, and stay the course.
nick

Read the comments: 51 Comments

Fri. Aug. 14, 2026 – huh, the whole week went by already

And it’s still hot. Hoping for a little cool spell didn’t make it happen. What is wrong with the universe that it doesn’t bend to my will? Eh, gonna be hot and humid again today in all likelihood. And this weekend as well. It was certainly hot and humid yesterday, carrying on well into the night.

Heat and humidity? You’re soaking in it.

Did auction stuff in the morning, then did my pickups in the afternoon, with a bit of shopping thrown in. Well, buying more than shopping. Not much else of significance other than the kids had their first day back at school. Seemed to be fine with it too.

Today IDK what I’ll do. I think I’ll do a bit more cleaning on my auction purchase, and probably do some fence repair at the rent house. If I can do it with what I already have, I won’t have to bring anything home from the BOL, which is a plus. And since I need to stash my project for a day or two, I will probably go by the shop and try to get some work done there. If nothing else, I need to clear a path to the stuff for my upcoming show/event/convention. I’ll probably spend some time next week getting that stuff sorted and ready too.

I’ll keep working, and stacking, and maybe some small progress will be made.

nick

Read the comments: 78 Comments

Thur. Aug. 13, 2026 – Friday the 13th falls on a Thursday this month… and it’s the first day of school

With the heat, it’s hard to believe summer is ending. We’ve got a month or more of hot and humid ahead of us. I don’t know how much longer we’ll have 100+ degree days though. And a bit cooler at night will be welcome.

And since the start of the school year is way dang early these days, it’s not really the end of Summer that it used to be. Still can’t believe how fast time is flying by.

Did my pickups yesterday, and had nice chats with several people. Met a nice lady that grew up in Chicago not far from where my dad grew up, and we knew a lot of places in common. As she’s 50, she was more of a child of the 90s while I’m a child of the 80s, but still, midwestern and south side of Chicago has a strong cultural influence. And her childhood was a bit more urban than my suburban life. We chatted for over an hour.

Today I have to get youngest out the door. She still wants me to make her a snack for school. Despite my strike I will do so because I get a lot out of it. D1 went to the store and bought TP and some food so the strike will continue a bit longer. As she has to do more of the background stuff I did, maybe she’ll come to realize it. Or maybe not. Teens are very self-centered.

In the afternoon, I have a couple of pickups in Katy. I got some fishing stuff and a nice leather chair for the BOL. The chair will need cleaning, but I’m looking forward to expanding my skills refurbing leather. It’s a distraction, possibly, but also something nice for the BOL.

I’ve got to move some stuff at the shop and get more auction stuff ready, now that I made a little bit of room with the stuff I dropped off.

Should be plenty to do. If my strike continues, I’ll have more time for some stuff. And, maybe the kid will learn some things in preparation to going to college next fall.

Always be working to improve. Stack. I still think it is all going to fall apart economically and socially and the trigger won’t be obvious. Unless they manage to kill Trump, that will make everything go nuts in a very unpredictable way.

n

Read the comments: 50 Comments

Wed. Aug. 12, 2026 – busy, and some personal issues

Hot and humid. We got a break yesterday, probably because of the localized rain and thunderstorms, with afternoon temps in the high 70sF, but it was back into the 80sF after dinner. The sun, when it was out, turned my black truck into an oven. Today should be similar.

Did a lot of driving, and even overlapped instead of combining trips because my Ranger is still at the shop. Had to use the kid’s minivan to drop off auction items in the morning in Tomball, and head home promptly, because she needed to do stuff and go to work. Then I headed back north again in the Expy to do pickups in The Woodlands, Conroe, and then I hit Kingwood on the way home. LOTS of growth in the area between Conroe and Kingwood. Thousands of homes and businesses being built in that area. Big road expansion going on too.

Today I’ll use the Expy for a couple more pickups. I got some medical stuff and some household stuff that I needed. It won’t be as much driving, and will all be on the west side, but I’ll be going north, and then a fair bit south before heading home to the middle.

Ranger suspension work is mostly finished. I had to replace my worn out tires, so I let the shop do it, as I would have had to pickup the truck, get the tires, and then go back for alignment. This way they’ll just keep working and I can do my pickups. The downside is my local tire guy won’t get the ~$1000. The shop already made a bunch on the other work, and I like to spread it around locally. It just didn’t make sense time-wise this time though.

Today is also the 8th anniversary of my dad’s death. I still think of things to pick up for him or tell him about…

Raise a glass to absent friends, especially those who really liked a drink.

nick

(Stack up some local resources. You should have “a guy” for a lot of things.)

Read the comments: 71 Comments
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // end of file archive.php // -------------------------------------------------------------------------------