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Category: decline and fall

Thur. Dec. 4, 2025 – and the beat goes on

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

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Wed. Dec. 3, 2025 – more stuff to do, less time to do it.

Cold again. Mid 40sF and not getting much warmer during the day. Add in grey sky and possible rain, and today could be cold and teh sux. Yesterday was a clear, sunny day, and with long pants and long sleeves, I got by without a jacket for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Probably won’t be that way today.

I did my pickups, after some computer stuff in the morning. I’ve got more to do today. I also hit the HEB for some veg. I did get 10 pounds of pork shoulder for carnitas and pulled pork. Beef is crazy expensive. Choice tenderloin steaks (filet mignon) were $23/pound. Hamburger was $5.50 for 73/27. Other than the shoulder, I am eating meat out of the freezers.

Today I’ve got stuff to do around the house, of course. I’ve got a choice of doing a couple of pickups too. I don’t want to forget about the generator I need to make a special trip to get either. W was thinking of going to the BOL this weekend so I might finally get some stuff out of the house and my shop. It would be nice to have the room ready for the tree tonight…

We’ll see what we get to and what gets done. There’s always something. Stack.

nick

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Tues. Dec. 2, 2025 – stuff to do, will I?

Cold again. It never got warmer yesterday. It stayed within a degree of 44F all day. The precipitation did change, going to very light mist in the afternoon. Chill and wet. Fun times.

I did mostly small things around the house as I couldn’t use the truck for anything in the rain. Cleaning and sorting is a never ending job.

As part of that I sorted some of the various pouches of seasoning I have in the cabinet. I couldn’t find any of my stewed chicken slow cooker sauce. I had already thawed and put the chicken in the cooker, so I had to find something. Settled on some mexican flavoring, which ended up being pretty good and will probably go into the dinner rotation. I did throw out about 10 pouches of stuff that were hard inside or old. I suspect that someone else may have thrown out the pouches I was looking for…

Anyway, today we are supposed to be clear, so I’ve got some pickups to do and maybe some shopping. And I’ll be moving more stuff because we need to get the room clear for the Christmas tree. Part of the stuff in the room is waiting to go to the BOL, and wouldn’t be there if we’d gone the last couple of times we were supposed to go. Ah well. Next time.

There is always something that needs to be done, and always new things added to the list. Swapping out the DVD drive on my main pc means more office cleaning… and that means having somewhere to put stuff while I clean, and somewhere to put it when I’m done. A whole stack of tasks to do one simple thing… but that’s the way it is.

We’ll see when I get to that.

Meanwhile, if you still need presents, get your shopping done early. Don’t forget, you might need a present for yourself. You deserve it.

Stack what you need.

n

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Mon. Dec. 1, 2025 – OMG, December already

Cold and damp as is appropriate for December. Warming later if we’re lucky. It was in the 40sF when I went to bed, and I expect to start the day there too. Maybe get into the upper 50sF or low 60sF…

It was cold, damp, and windy at the Renfair yesterday. Overcast and dreary too. I am still glad I went. Broke the rules and carried, including my blowout kit and CAT in my bag. I don’t like being in public gatherings without being prepared. Didn’t need anything more than an appetite though.

Today I’ll be back to normal weekly activity, and the kids will too. Three weeks until Christmas and 4 weeks left in the year. Joy. Feels too soon, although a couple of months dragged by.

The new items on the list include getting the truck checked out by my repair shop, and getting some Christmas decor up. It’s time to decorate, and I understand now why some people went early.

Still need to do all the other stuff, and get out of my last storage unit too. Gah. I just fall farther behind.

Could be I’m not trying hard enough. We’ll see.

For now, work with what you’ve got. No one wants to start trouble at Christmas time except random muzzies, keep an eye open for them. And stack.

nick

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Sun. Nov. 30, 2025 – Ah, merriment and fantasy tropes ahead

Cool but not cold, but certainly damp. Then cold later in the day. It never really did rain yesterday, although several times moisture from the sky convinced me it was coming. I hope today will be dry as I’ll be mostly outdoors.

Didn’t get as much done yesterday as I’d hoped. Felt a bit out of sorts from the meds until they flushed out completely. And it is our vacation/holiday so I’m not super motivated to bust @ss. I did do some stuff with my dashcam for the Ranger, although I didn’t finish. Cleaned and moved stuff in the house too. Ate some leftovers.

Today youngest is headed to the Texas Renaissance Festival with friends in the morning, and I will attend with lovely wife later in the day. I want to see the Christmas decor and lights after dark. Kid is less interested. So we’ll overlap for a bit, then some will stay with us and some will leave early. It’s the last day, so I’m also hoping there might be some bargains to be had. The TxRenFair is a big deal, been going and growing for 51 years and it’s big, physically big. I enjoyed it last time I went and while I’m not looking forward to going today because of weather and work, I am glad to be going this year.

Oh, I don’t dress up. I will take a leather bag, and my pipe, and probably wear a hat, and if I had a leather duster, I’d wear it, but since I don’t… I try not to be obnoxiously modern. There is a lot going on besides trad Renfair stuff, lots of fantasy fandoms get incorporated. A ranger type with a quarterstaff wouldn’t be out of place. My staff is at the lake though.

I’m mainly interested in craft demos and handmade stuff. There is some of it, and some of good quality if you look past the cheap tourist stuff. And my past career in event production is always looking at something like this with a critical and interested eye. Of course, the ribeye steak on a stick, or as a sandwich, is REALLY good.

I’ll be stacking up some good memories and some time with W and D2. Stack what you can.

nick

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Sat. Nov. 29, 2025 – no rest for the weary, or the wicked

Cool to start, maybe getting nicer, maybe getting stormier… Supposedly some big storming is possible. It was certainly windy yesterday and cool. I don’t think it got above mid 70sF.

Yesterday was mostly calm, and uneventful with a little bit of work getting done, mostly trips to my shop with stuff from the house. I did do one pickup and a trash run. Oh, and there was the accident I got in on my way home. It’s in the comments yesterday. I’m fine, and the truck looks fine, but both will probably have at least some hidden damage. We’ll see over the next couple of days.

Today, if I’m feeling ok, I’ve got some work to do on the truck. Item the first is installing a new dashcam, since the one I have in there failed miserably. You had ONE JOB… And if I’m in the truck working, I’ll see about installing a stereo and maybe running some wire for the ham radio too.

I’d like to maybe get some lights or other decoration started on the house too. Sounds pretty ambitious for me lately.

Oh, and refilling some of the 1 pound propane bottles for the MrHeaters. I’ve gotten in the habit of sitting out by the pond for a while and I like it. It’s not as good as the lake but it does take the edge off.

Some quiet time is pretty important for most people, but men especially. Stack some if you can.

nick

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Fri. Nov. 28, 2025 – a pause that refreshes?

Cold. Yeah, seriously, 50F is cold here. I’ll have to run the heat if it doesn’t warm up. Cold morning, nice day. Like Thanksgiving Day.

Well, we did the traditional feast yesterday. Kids contributed with pies and a casserole. I just ate. And while they were cooking I did some sorting and disposal of canned food, some work on my cameras, and a couple of other small things. I took it easy, but didn’t want to lose all my momentum.

Today I’ve got a couple of auction pickups to do. One for resale, one for Christmas presents. I’ve got some people covered, or more than covered, and some that are currently present-less. And I haven’t found good White Elephant gifts for my non-prepping hobby get together. That means I’m on the prowl for good/appropriate gifts.

I also have stuff to do on my truck, like headlight replacement, radio install, stereo install, cleaning… and stuff to do around the house. Many of my neighbors started their Christmas decorating already, so I might do some of that today too. Who knows? If I make plans the universe is bound to screw them up somehow, so better to just see what I get done.

The first pass through my stored canned food tells me I need to do some more culling and cleanup. Add that to the list. Buying food and stacking it is a solid prep though.

I’m always gonna tell you to stack something, even if it’s just good experiences. They can keep you warm and sane when the going gets tough.

We can all use a little help when that happens.

nick

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Thur. Nov. 27, 2025 – Thanksgiving day, US

Cold. By Texas standards anyway. It was in the 50sF last night and damp, so it felt even cooler. Probably it will be cold, then cool, then warm today with sun and clear skies. Nice.

I spent yesterday doing small things on the list. I got several done, and kept moving forward. Baby steps are still steps, right?? For an unhurried day, there was a lot going on. We even had some carnivore drama in the back yard to deal with.

D1 had a date, and the guy seems nice. She had a good night and was beaming. Her previous dates have been pretty lackluster, so I’m happy for her, but I’m still a dad with my little girl going out with boys. Kid is tall, in good shape and confident. Nice change from the emo simps.

Between D1, D2, and their friends, I’m coming to think that their emotional maturity is a couple of years behind where I’d expect it to be. Certainly it’s behind where my generation was. There are a couple of reasons that could be, 2 years of pandemic and social media are the obvious possibilities. And of course, we’re mostly talking about middle and upper middle class white kids. The hispanic kids have a different experience and point of view from what I can see.

It will be interesting to watch how this generation grows up.

But, that’s all for later. Today we take the time to pause and give thanks. There are always things to be thankful for, even at our darkest hours, and Thanksgiving Day gives an opportunity to stop, take stock, and find those things.

I’m thankful for Bob giving me this opportunity, and for Barbara’s faith and trust. I’m thankful for all of you who stop by and share your lives and thoughts with me and the rest of this community. I’m thankful for the world we live in, for the beauty of the natural world and everything in it. I’m thankful for the opportunity to love and be loved, and for my family and the support they give. I’m thankful to be alive. When I was young, I never thought I’d see 26 years of age, and here I am 33 years past that point.

There have been good times and bad during those years, but they made me who I am and I’m ok with that. They have all been a gift; one I’m glad to share with the people in my life. I look forward to many more, no matter the challenges and heartbreak that may be ahead of us.

Thank you all,

nick

(stack something good)

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Wed. Nov. 26, 2025 – cooking today

A bit cooler, and clear today. It got chilly last night. I still expect it to be high 80sF or even into the 90sF like yesterday by late afternoon though.

I was less productive than I’d hoped on Tuesday. I did get the grocery shopping done. That’s a good thing.

Today should be more small tasks and cooking pies, as well as getting prepped for tomorrow’s feast. We are cutting back on sides for Thanksgiving dinner, but there will still be some french meat pie, and several dessert pies. And a 12 pound bird.

And while I feel like a slacker that we didn’t go to the BOL, this is a much more relaxing plan.

I feel the need to adjust to the kids’ plans and to encourage the desire to work that D1 seems to have found. Building good kids is sort of the ultimate prep, so I’m trying to be flexible. We have much to be thankful for, and where we celebrate that thankfulness isn’t as important as taking the time to do so. Besides, if you are smart, you take your joy where you find it.

Build. Improve. Stack. Live.

nick

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Tues. Nov. 25, 2025 – 112525 – plans, I’ve got ’em

Cooler, wetter, darker? We’ll see. It did rain yesterday. And lightning. And sun. So we had all the weather. Might get the same today.

Yeah, it was a bit of a dog’s breakfast yesterday weatherwise, and that got me in a weird headspace which meant not a lot got done. I needed good weather to move out of my storage unit. Didn’t get it. I had enough to do some cleanup in the driveway though. And I did some cleanup indoors moving stuff into the attic. I’ve been taking stuff out of the attic too. There’s a bit of a sorting and shuffling and re-stacking going on.

Today we’ll see what happens with the weather. If it’s good, then I’ll get at least a load moved. I won’t be loading up for a trip to the BOL. W and I decided that the kids have too much going on this week. So instead of a nice week off, we’d have a non-stop tight schedule of moving from here to there. It sucks. I really needed to get 4-5 days of work at the BOL with some cushion if things went badly. No way I could get that if they were leaving Friday morning. I’m unhappy about how this week is shaping up, but it will be more relaxing and a lot less hectic if we do the holiday here.

One of the activities scheduled was going to the Renfair on Sunday. I would like to go this year, and that meant coming home on Saturday anyway. Get there late, leave early, nah. Not this time. Like I said, it sucks. Stuff changes though and you have to deal with reality.

Dealing with things as they are rather than as they “should be” is a skill that can be practiced and learned. It’s vital to success if you are not a chosen one with a smoothed path. But it is a pain in the fundament.

Keep working. Keep stacking. Don’t lose heart.
nick

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