Probably another day of mixed sun and thunderstorms. Yesterday had fewer big cells moving around but there were still a few, and I saw a few sprinkles hit my windshield as I drove around. It was 78F when I woke up, hit 101F in my driveway, and was 81F when I went to bed. We didn’t get the cooling rain we’ve been getting, but it was still a nice day.
I started with my non-prepping hobby, and while we didn’t have a full house, it was better attended than last month. Given the median age of our members, not seeing guys at a meeting always raises at least a little concern. After that I raced around and got three pickups done. Ended up having a long conversation with one of my auctioneers, who is fairly like-minded, and thinks that things will be getting ugly and changing completely in the world sooner, rather than later. And while I hadn’t planned to spend time talking with people, I think it was time well spent.
Today I’ll be sleeping in and then doing household stuff, and some other things around the house.
Fairly late last night I decided to sit out and have a tiny little fire while I read a book. Something drew my attention and I sat and thought for a short while.
I realized I’d spent my whole life getting to that point. A point where I could sit in front of my house (which is well stocked to meet almost any local or regional calamity), next to my water feature (which is also 50 gallons of easily filtered water), in my relatively safe and pretty quiet suburban neighborhood, reading a book written by some guy on the internet, delivered wirelessly to a mini computer screen I can hold in my hand, paid for seamlessly using a global system of banking and finance, while my family slept comfortably and securely in air conditioned comfort, clean and well fed.
I LIKE my life and the world I live in. I don’t want to lose it in the short term, no matter what wonders will come after the destruction. Civilizations come and go, world powers wax and wane- this is the natural way of things. No matter what happens, my children will live in a world that will probably be very different from this one, both in detail and in broad strokes.
My grandmother came to the US about the time that the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. She witnessed two world wars and the global conflicts spawned in the aftermath. She watched men set foot on the moon on a TV in her home, and had a grandchild who was a little wiz kid at the birth of the personal computer age. Telegrams and radio became black and white TV, then color TV, then the dawn of the Information Age. Her five children gave her 28 grand kids and a couple of times that number of great grands before she died. From Kitty Hawk to airliners, from telegrams to personal computers, the world changed around her, and because of her.
Change is the only constant. Empires rose and fell during her lifetime, wars were fought, distance and time were compressed by travel and telecommunications. Peoples’ personal awareness of the world expanded dramatically from their village to the the farthest corners of the globe.
Will my children and their children live in a world where their personal awareness extends to other planets, other star systems, or wholly created worlds? Will they be able to travel incredible distances in times that seem so short they might as well be magical? Will their minds and bodies expand to meet the challenges and changes of their time? Or will they be stuck on this mud ball, fighting to make a life in the ruins of our great civilization? Will my great-grandchildren find their own version of “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” standing in the desert, surrounded by nothing but wasteland, “boundless and bare”?
We are so close. And some days it seems like all anyone wants to do is burn it all down.
————
Prep like your life depends on it. The goal is to get through it and see what comes next. Stack.
nick
Having been through this with a friend when her husband died, my son has access to all the important information, passwords, accounts, phone settings, MacBook settings, etc. via BitWarden. I have kept all my important information in that application. It should make his process much easier when it is time to access my stuff.
I keep everything in RoboForm, and that master password is in the safe deposit box. I also hedge against something in the cloud becoming unavailable (we know that never happens) by printing out the complete list and putting it in the safe deposit box as well. I also hand write all major passwords to put in there, and I leave the old ones (marked) too. Belt and suspenders.
Ok, not everyone is a fan, but I smell a Gecko at work.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-cable-cowboy-battles-a-giant-gas-station-for-the-soul-of-the-west/ar-AA1Iurb0
Safe Deposit boxes are useful, but make sure the designated person has access – that bit a friend – she had to go through a lot of hoops, because despite being an executor they hadn’t put her on a list in that specific bank. Sure, there is a process when that happens, but it takes weeks and lots of effort.
So apparently they take the integrity of their boxes very strongly, which is to all the good generally.
@lynn …. I had an issue with my phone – the pin for it didn’t work. Took it to the T-mobile place, and they did a factory reset then synced the phone with the backup in their ‘cloud’. (Samsung Galaxy S2 4+).
After less than 10 minutes all of the phone apps/data was back on the phone, restored from the T-mobile backup. Same phone number.
I think that it is the Walmart service, Basictalk.
I have zero bills, etc. All of this stuff is in the cloud on autopay. I cannot get into his home email, etc.
I have not found any of his receiots for the autooays so I think that they are in his gmail email. Or on his phone.
Not to beat a deceased equine, but, once the key gets turned, ownership of safe deposit box contents is an ongoing legal grey area so the bank has a strong incentive to maintain control of access to the boxes.
Words of wisdom to live by. Thanks, Mr. Nick.
Now that I’m 70, my prepping time has dropped significantly. I’ve tried to plan for enough money till the Mrs and I croak, 6-months of freeze-dried food for a major disaster, and given access to the kids to my password manager, 1Password, for use during our deaths. Other than that, I just manage those items to make sure they are viable and plan on spending my remaining days goofing off doing what ever I want to do.
I don’t think the World will end or significantly change to the point I’ll care until after I pass. I’m guessing most of you will feel the same when you hit 70+ and your mortality sets in. I’ve told the kids that when the Mrs and I pass, whatever is left is your, but I’m not planning for their lives, too.
Mr. Lynn, thanks for posting about your trials trying to gain access to your late father’s data. These are important lessons, for those of us who have parents, on the difficulty of managing their affairs when they pass. It is also important to us seniors, who have loved ones, and want to pass on what is left. We need to plan accordingly and give full access to our affairs to those loved ones. If the wife and I pass early, I don’t want some fracking investment firm just keeping leftovers.
There are others here that have shared greatly what it takes to handle and move on after the loss of family. Mr. Ray and Mr. Paul come to mind. Thank you for the life lessons you have given us.
As noted earlier, as was when my Mother passed, the official death certificate will help open doors.
92F and part sun. I have coffee in my hand and food in my belly.
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on a sheet of paper in our bank’s safe deposit box
– in the US the advice is to not put anything in a bank safe deposit box that you would need after the box holder’s death. The box will be held until after probate, so Last Will’s in particular shouldn’t go there. The work around is to add people to the authorized user list, and make sure they know where the key is, but still, if the bank finds out about the death, I’m pretty sure they will restrict access.
Don’t forget safe combinations and locations of any hidden floor or wall safes.
And get rid of old paperwork. We had to look thru over 40 years of bank statements to make sure that none of the accounts still existed after name changes, mergers, etc. 7 years for the IRS, forever for important legal paper. Old bills and bank statements for closed accounts are NOT important legal paper. This was made more difficult by my “child of the depression” father’s tendency to put small-ish amounts in a LOT of banks. And by the tendency of banks to close and merge, some dozens of times in 40 years.
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kid 2 is headed to GS camp for a week. It’s not the camp on the San Jacinto River delta.
There is more flooding along the Guadalupe River today. This month’s weather has been nuts.
n
Assuming the deceased filed returns. My father-in-law did not file during the five years prior to his death, covering a period when, among other activities which would interest the IRS, he sold a house in Florida for a capital gain.
Years ago I discovered Vellux blankets at some hotel or motel. Nice. I bought one and used it for years until the fluff started falling off. I looked around. Joskes was gone by then . So was Wards and Sears. Pennys and Dillards didn’t have them. Wal-mart is too down market.
I stumbled across them on Big River a couple of weeks ago. I ordered one this morning. 7:30am. Along with something else and also Rick’s second book of Dad Jokes.
So…. the page said if I join Prime everything will be delivered today. Since nothing was ever delivered the same day when we had Prime and seldom on the next day, their claim is suspect. Hey, free shipping works. I can wait until <drum roll> Friday.
Yes, Friday. But Prime will deliver today?
The thunder and rain has started. So far it’s not too bad, but I won’t be working outside today.
n
As @Nick says at 13:30.
And there is a will, and trust, and an authorized personnel list, but the half dozen or so banks that accounts are spread across (depression era father) are going to make it all interesting.
But it makes him happy and feel safe, and that’s whats important.
As she put it: “Neither of us is in a hurry”.
It was supposed to cool down starting today – to 99F – but now they’re saying 103 today and 104 tomorrow…
Well, it could be worse, like Ridgecrest …
“When I was pleased, I took photos. The type of photos that fill up your drive and gives you the warning that you have to pay for more in order to keep taking photos. And you think that you will spend time one day deleting all those photos. But deep down, you probably know it’s a lie. Such a big lie. Just a couple more months with an additional payment. I promise myself.”
Pierre Bolmér
“The Swedish Maker”
Is this the new solution to workshop storage?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qno15h-UQFU
on a sheet of paper in our bank’s safe deposit box
“– in the US the advice is to not put anything in a bank safe deposit box that you would need after the box holder’s death. The box will be held until after probate, so Last Will’s in particular shouldn’t go there. The work around is to add people to the authorized user list, and make sure they know where the key is, but still, if the bank finds out about the death, I’m pretty sure they will restrict access.
Don’t forget safe combinations and locations of any hidden floor or wall safes.”
Given that recent history has shown that government at all levels has sticky fingers–and I include fedgov specifically wrt safe deposit boxes–it would be prudent to give careful consideration to disposition of assets.
“Well, it could be worse, like Ridgecrest …”
or one of the new suburbs in Hell?
Is this the new solution to workshop storage?
— some guys work IN their shops, some guys work ON their shops. As long as both enjoy their time, I can’t object, but the time something like that takes is staggering.
n
With regard to safe deposit boxes, the Federal Government’s fingers aren’t nearly as sticky as those belonging to the “too big to fail” institutions.
The Feds and States have been taking a pretty aggressive tack against the 4th amendment with their various asset forfeiture systems, and the whole SDB vault seizures.
I imagine, like the second amendment, eventually the clear text and intent will be taken at face value and obvious corollaries (individual delegation to an institution with a really safe & secure vault beyond individual capabilitiesfor example), but it may take a few more decades.
“— some guys work IN their shops, some guys work ON their shops. As long as both enjoy their time, I can’t object, but the time something like that takes is staggering.”
Few of these “solutions” really break down the time and cost.
I’ve seen some ready-made versions used by pros. If your shop rate is $200 an hour and you are already making a mortgage payment on your tools and boxes, getting maximum density and having them organized is economical.
He makes a spot-on comment about Gridfinity in passing–sacrificing height for the grid.
The first organizers for his screwdrivers were white, then v2 is black–a step back. I use white shelf liner (the grippy stuff with holes) to line tool drawers. Black just sucks light and hides dirt.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/07/13/widow-of-corey-comperatore-demands-more-accountability-one-year-after-death-n2660290
All the USSS managers involved in that debacle should be put on notice that they will be absolutely forthcoming about every single communication that went into the screwed-up decisions that produced the worst second-worst performance in the history of the organization. Anything that sounds like reticence or has the faintest whiff of coverup should be met with termination for cause, criminal charges, and refusal to defend them against civil charges, which would result in financial ruin when Mrs. Comperatore uses the funds she would get from a Gofundme to hire the biggest pipe-hitting liability attorneys she can find.
These f***ups wanted Donald Trump dead and sold their professional souls and honor to make him vulnerable.
The crazy thing is that he has so few tools, yet still feels the need to organize and display them like jewelry. The wera screwdrivers are nice, as are the insulated ones, but if you lose or damage one, the replacement will probably not be the same…
I can probably fit his whole hand tool collection in a single drawer. Granted they wouldn’t be as accessible, but I’ve worked out of a suitcase sized box on the road and if you put stuff in bags, you can pack it solid and still quickly find what you need.
And where do you put the beater driver that you use as a big prybar? Where is his box of miss-matched sockets? Swivels? Crowsfeet? tubing wrenches?
The white plastic probably showed every fingerprint and smudge and marred the ‘aesthetic.’
If you work on mechanical things, you need two of every set, one to hold, one to turn… You can make do with a wrench and a socket, but often two of the same tool works better.
Well laid out shops/trucks/toolboxes will always appeal, but why worry if you only have a bucket full of tools in the first place?
n
added
getting maximum density and having them organized is economical.
he’s certainly not getting density.
I use cheap magnetic strips from HF to hold screwdrivers and nut drivers to the front of a shelf over my main workbench.
The straight blade and SAE drivers are on the left, and on the right side of the 8 foot shelf are the Phillips and metric nut drivers.
I can see exactly what I’ve got and when I need to go find the ones that I dropped or left somewhere. Occasionally I knock a few down while putting something on the shelves, but no big deal.
So, not very elegant or high-tech, but then neither am I…
An idle question. If Google is in charge of updating the apps on my phone and turns on stuff I have turned off, why doesn’t it update the OS?
I have Android 8. I don’t know the “cute” name. Sure, drivers for older hardware can be a problem. But updates to the shell should still happen. Look how Win11 keeps changing.
“Oreo” hasn’t seen a security patch since 2021. That version of Android is “end of life”.
The shell is generally the responsibility of the manufacturer, and most of the major players in Android lose interest in updating the OS long before the “end of life” date at Google.
Apple makes some exceptions for significant models such as the iPhone 3GS and first gen iPhone SE, but iOS updates for a given phone usually stop three years after the last one rolls off the assembly line.
My first gen iPhone SE recently received an OS patch, which was surprising given the age. I received the phone for Christmas in 2018 and carried it up until Christmas 2023, when I got a third gen SE.
3pm and currently 101F and rising. Pooltemp is 88F – maybe a little too warm. very light breeze.
The thing with parents and spouses dying is, it gets complicated in unexpected ways. So as much as one wants to, it needs to be discussed. It will happen just like sunrise and sunset.
BTW, folks die. But dying is the correct spelling and not dieing. English!!! It ties you into knots.
With my Mom, after she moved in, the three of us made wills. Last one standing gets everything and then it is all split between his two boys.
The seemingly little thing of taking my dad off of her house and adding me, as a co-owner, made things much easier to sell the house. It’s still mom’s house, she can rent it or sell it or simply torch the place. She dies, it’s my house. No probate needed.
“Hey mom! Wanna drink a lot of beer and go torch the house?” was good for huge eye rolls along the lines of “gawd, my son is retarded”.
Now for this place. We had plans. Always have a plan!
Let’s go get my name on the deeds. But ya gotta execute. We did not. So the house and land were always in his name. Because when we bought the place it seemed odd to us to have it all in both names. Because two guys living together and “folks” whoever they are, might talk. Take into account that when we moved to Burnet the population sign said 2800. No need to track mud into the house,.
Oh. Thirty years later the population is pushing 6500. English is not their first language…..
Plans… so anyway, probate seems to still be happening. I’m guessing to give bill collectors time to file a claim. I need to visit the lawyer folks. Soon. Next trip to town. Another plan.
I did get the letters from the county saying that I have ag on the land and over 65 and homestead on the house… and both letters were addressed to me. The lawyer said he’d get me clear titles to house and land.
Shrug.
Anyway. You don’t want to talk about it. The kids don’t want to hear it. Print your passwords and tape that paper to the underside of your keyboard.
A lot of us here are HAMs. Here’s to spreading the word!
Amateur Radio Volunteers Responding To the July 4th Floods
https://www.gofundme.com/f/amateur-radio-volunteers-responding-to-the-july-4th-floods
That’s how we have it set up: my wife and I retain everything until we are both compost, then the kids get whatever is left. If we die young, there will be quite a bit. If we live long, there may be nothing. And there’s no telling: all of our parents died young, all of our grandparents lived to ripe old ages. Odd…
I ought to get quit-claim deeds set up for the oil rights I inherited. I keep putting it off, hoping some conglomerate will come along and buy them. It’s really stupid: 1/32 of the southern half of the NW quarter section X, 1/64 of the SE quarter section Y, ad infinitum. The stuff has been split over so many kids and generations that it’s beyond stupid. The fields are played out, at least until somebody fracks them, so the royalties are pocket change.