Category: culture

Cool, then warming. Humid and stifling when the breeze stops and sun like a laser beam… or was that yesterday? Why yes, it was. Later in the day was actually nasty while it started ok. I’m going with more of the same for today. Nice orange moon though.

Well, like most weeks, I did do two pickups yesterday. One was some general stuff for the BOL, one was a pump for the irrigation system at the BOL. The current pump seems to work, but it WAS underwater for a week when the lake flooded. That can’t have been good for it. Usually the pumps in the auctions are returns fraud, someone buys a new pump and returns their old rusty POS for a refund. This one was in the box, with the shipping covers in place on the inlet and outlet.

Today I’ve got two pickups, on opposite sides of town. One is a couple of freeze dried meals. I didn’t look closely and it turns out they are not even worth $1 each to me. But I bid, so I’ll pick up the two lots I won. I can combine that part of the trip and grab another pickup nearby. Then it’s off to the north side of town and three invoices at one seller. It’s the seller who was going to pack it in, but decided to keep trying. He’s still not making much money in the auctions, but he’s pulling out good items and selling them elsewhere. Reselling as a business is NOT as easy as people think it is.

D2 has a football game to march in tonight, so I’ll try to make that as well. Where has this week gone? Starting a day late sure shortens the week.

Some parts I needed came in too, so I can do more work at the shop, which will help me work on getting a bunch of stuff out of here and sold. Baby steps. But still steps mostly moving forward.

Always be working. Always be stacking.

nick

Cool to start, hot later, and damp the whole time. Like yesterday. Extra damp, with actual moisture from the sky in the afternoon. That’s what we got, and what we’ll probably get again.

I did manage to solve my client’s issues yesterday, and fairly expeditiously at that. Two cable issues, one dead input port, and some changes to control programming, along with some network work and the troubleshooting effort, so just like old times… kinda satisfying actually to have clear problems and clean fixes.

Didn’t get a whole lot else done though. Office stuff mostly, some small bits of domestic bliss. Cut my hair. Looks good to me. No one else seems to notice. Cut an inch off my beard. Ah, the life of excitement and intrigue.

Today I will probably do pickups. I won a new irrigation pump for the BOL and a couple of small things. Pumps are $350-450 so picking one up cheap makes sense. Most of the auction lots I was outbid, but not by much. Prices are down, or there is a lack of bidders. Time to consolidate what I have.

And stack that stuff high!

Like all y’all, right?

nick

Slightly cooler. Slightly less moist? Might be. Yesterday was fairly nice but did get hot in the afternoon. I expect more of the same today. Small changes over the next few weeks until suddenly it’s Fall again.

I got a few things done. Nothing like the list I’d hoped to do. Picked up stuff, mostly for the BOL, and dropped it at the shop. Amazing how quickly a space can fill up with the contents of two storage units, some stuff from a third, and stuff from home. I really need to get the fuse for the electrical service, and get the A/C running so I can spend some time organizing and getting rid of stuff over there.

But that’s for future me. Today I’ll do some office stuff- I’ve got a bunch of mail to send, and then head to my client’s house. I’ll remote in and see if I can see anything wrong, but I’m betting I need eyes on the problem. Sometimes it’s much faster and easier to look in person.

Then I’ll do some of that list here… if I can. It gets longer every day, and my motivation flags. I’ve got y’all to keep me honest though.

Stack, fix, improve, and do what’s needful.

nick

Cool and wet. It was 75F and dripping when I went to bed last night. Houston got rain. The BOL did not. It was mid 90sF in the evening, without any breeze, and with the sun drilling holes in my head. It would be nice if today stayed a bit cooler. I’m not going to hold my breath though.

Spent the day doing stuff. Mostly outdoor work. Cut my lawn and the HOA lot next door. That’s my civic duty for the month. Did some other small things on the list, but mostly it was the outdoor stuff. Found some time to read in between, and I did sleep in. I guess that counts as a vacation?

Back to work this week though. Either today or tomorrow I will do a service call for my last client. He’s having issues that sound like network/IP address issues. Joy. I’ve got stuff to sell, stack, and sort here too. Got confirmation that I’m checked out of my storage unit. Now I need to go through the pile of stuff and make it a smaller pile.

There is always more to do. But that’s the gig and I can deal with it. Time to make some money with all that stuff I bought to sell.

Money is a prep. Stacks are preps. Stacks of money are a super prep!

nick

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