Category: decline and fall

Sun. May 9, 2021 – tired and sore. Still plugging away.

Forecast says we’re in a potential rain area. I hope for continued nice weather. Saturday was nice, cool with the wind blowing, a bit humid and certainly warm in the sun, when it came out. It would be nice to have that again today.

I went to my non-prepping hobby meeting and had a great time talking with people. Almost no masks, fwiw. We had a good turnout and we’re planning our annual convention and swapmeet for September or August. We would normally draw attendees from all of Texas, Louisiana and points east, and some of the other states that share a border with Texas too. Given pent up demand, we’re hoping for a big show.

A couple of the guys in this group overlap with the ham lunch group, and they are talking about meeting in person for lunch next week, for the first time in a year. I am really looking forward to that. It was very nice to get out of the house on Wednesdays for lunch. Working from home can be very isolating. And MEATSPACE is important too.

Hit the HEB for some Mother’s Day flowers and some weekly groceries last night. Even considering it was Saturday evening, there were a lot of empty spaces on the shelves. Clearly they are having trouble stocking, still. Just one more thing to factor into your assessment of the state o the state.

And in the wider world, consider the number of analysts that got the unemployment numbers wrong. Not just wrong, but so F’ing wrong you gotta wonder what they were smoking. If something like 78 of 80 of the sharpest analysts were off by 4x or 8x what does that say about any of their analysis?

Look around and make up your own mind, but I’m pretty sure that bad things are coming (and before good things.) Get ready. Stack it high.

nick

Fri. May 7, 2021 – no star wars reference today. sad face.

I’m hoping for another beautiful day. Yesterday was gorgeous.

Prayers and best wishes for friends that are hurting.

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Didn’t get a lot of stuff done yesterday. My back is right on the edge of being hurt again. Just picking up 5 pounds causes twinges. Today I’ll go see the chiropractor.

I have noticed that the garage is staying cooler, with the attic exhaust fan running in the afternoon. The garage isn’t much (if any) hotter than the outdoor shaded areas, and that is a huge improvement.

Spent almost an hour yesterday chatting with my gun store buddy. They are really struggling, with very little inventory, a few consignment guns, and only transfers to keep the lights on. This is despite being in the middle of one of the hottest gun markets of all time. If you can’t get inventory, you can’t sell it.

That problem is starting to show up elsewhere too. If a store or a more narrowly focused vendor can’t get product, they can’t earn a living. Big stores or stores with a lot of SKUs can pivot to fill holes, or just rearrange shelves to cover for the missing items, but smaller vendors and suppliers that provide a more niche product are having real trouble. All those car and truck dealers that count on new inventory to entice people to buy are going to have real issues when none is forthcoming because of the chip shortage. Something similar is bound to happen in other markets too.

I think we are at the beginning of a time when if you see something you need or might need, or know of someone who needs it, you better grab it while you can. Yes, this can reduce supply for others. Judge your need, then decide, realizing you might be deciding to do without later if you decide to leave it for the next guy.

You should consider increasing your stocking levels of stuff like that too. If you normally only have a month’s worth, maybe 3 would be better. Or if you have 6 months supply, consider a year’s worth. Don’t count on being able to get what you want in a year’s time. And for some things, that really isn’t much of a burden, like kitchen trash bags. A roll of 70 lasts us a year. Two boxes on the shelf doesn’t take much space or money, and I know we’ll have bags for the next couple of years. Another consideration is that you might be able to get the category of item but not the specific one you like, forex- toilet paper a year ago… so if brand, size, or scent is important, get it now.

Welcome to the new normal. Start adjusting your mindset from abundance to scarcity.

Stack it high.

nick

Tues. May 4, 2021 – May the Fourth be with you….

We’re right on the edge of a predicted rain and thunderstorm area, so I’m hoping we don’t get it. We usually don’t. Yesterday was HOT in the sun and very humid feeling. I stayed in most of the day, because my outdoor work involves lifting and carrying, and my back is right on the edge of something bad, again. I’m really going to have to do more stretching.

I did a bunch of moving and sorting in my office. Improving my daily workspace seems both useful and wasteful at the same time. I feel like there are more impactful things to do around the house, but then I think about how nice it will be to get my desk cleaned up.* Work avoidance mode. So much easier than working.

Today will be something different, although I do need to continue the office clean out. First things first, I’ll be picking up my new truck. I will then be able to pick up a couple of things, and move some stuff back into the truck and out of the foyer. That will make room to strip everything out of the Ranger and get it in to the repair place. I want all this messing around with vehicles to be done.

Only way through is through.

And I’ll say the same for whatever bad thing is on the way. No avoiding it now, only dealing with it. Do your best to mitigate what’s been brewing for more than 6 years. Stacking will probably help.

nick

*5 monitors, 4 computers, 8 radios, vinyl cutter and laser printer, as well as storage and a couple of disk drive enclosures all visible at my main desk area.

Mon. May 3, 2021 – tomorrow is Star Wars Day

Today is supposed to be moderate, with a chance of rain. I’m hoping for ‘nice’ and ‘dry’. Yesterday was nice, but not particularly dry. It didn’t rain, but with all the wetness and high humidity, it was pretty damp and sweaty.

Nevertheless, I did yard work. Cut the grass, put up the bird net over the blueberry bushes, and turned over one of the garden beds. Yeah, it’s late, but I’m gonna plant stuff in it anyway. In the other part of the yard, my grape vine was leafing out, to within about 6 feet of the end, but now the leaves are dying back. No idea why. I’ll keep an eye on it, but I don’t see any reason, and there hasn’t been any change that I know about.

My wife’s tomato plants are going INSANE. HUGE growth. Lots of fruit. I like fried green tomatoes, but can take or leave red ones. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince her to harvest early though. We’ll probably have a lot more than we want or can eat as a result. I usually only plant one or three pots because I don’t love them and they don’t do well. This year looks like it will be different. Maybe it’s that they were planted in the raised beds and not pots? Or maybe it’s the used coffee grounds I’ve been adding to the beds… It would be nice to get some veg that we actually eat.*

It would be nice to have some success with the garden, period. I’d feel a LOT better about the coming whatever if I felt like I could grow some food. A steady diet of looters and rat will get old quick without some greens….

Grass soup seems to be the traditional food of a prolonged armed conflict. Every account I read, it comes down to that at some point. I’d like to think that I could do better, especially with time to prep, but at some point you run out of stuff, if you’re not growing more. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again.

However, since I don’t seem to have a green thumb, I better buy another flat of canned veg. And stack it just that much higher…

n

*holy cow, that paragraph is choppy. No flow for me today. I hope my usual writing isn’t that choppy.

Sun. May 2, 2021 – [singing] Do-oo-oomsday, it’s always a day a-way! [music playing]

Moderate, rainy, with periods of clear. Like yesterday.

My wife had periods of good weather at camp too, and the timing worked well with their activities. They have been having a great time. I’ve just been dodging raindrops all day.

I spent the day mostly indoors, other than getting two pickups done. Cleaning supplies, and birthday presents, bought before need. And 8 new in box zippo lighters. Genuine made in the US zippos, for <$2 each. Yeah, I had to drive to get them. Drove to get the other stuff too, though so the marginal cost was low. Our ability to make fire separates us from the animals, right? So anything that helps with that is a good thing. (Although any wick based lighter will dry out if left alone, so they are not good for a 'stock it and leave it' bag or stash- use butane for that.) One thing I had a chance to catch up on is the last couple of essays by Sarah Hoyt. I’ve linked to her before. Her mood seems to fluctuate, and she has written about battles with depression, so there is always that to consider, but she has a way with words, and as an immigrant and naturalized citizen, she’s got a different history and perspective than most people on the right side of the blogosphere. Always worth reading. Anyway, her last two are much more specific and pessimistic than usual, and even I find myself shaking my head and saying “that can’t be right”. But it might be.

Specifically she’s writing about the Biden EO that has gotten a bit of coverage on the right, and how it sets up the ‘legal’ structure to unperson, bankrupt, and starve anyone they can pin the ‘russian agent’ tag on. American Thinker wrote about it too. It’s titled “Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation “. Consider it in light of this section describing who can be determined to be at fault- “(F) activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners;”.

Couple that with this restriction “Sec. 2. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and
(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.”

That is some pretty broad language. We know rule of law is dead, so don’t expect any meaningful challenges to this EO. The penalty for helping or taking money from the unpersoned is to have the order applied to you and your FAMILY too.

Read the whole thing at the Whitehouse . gov. It’s short.

Remember that the people who hid Anne Frank and her family were breaking the law, and the person who turned her in was following it.

Prepare yourself for what will happen when people begin to be affected by this EO. And if it could apply to you, or be MADE to apply to you, prepare for that too.

You probably don’t have enough stuff stacked, or sturdy friends. I am pretty sure I don’t. Keep stacking.

nick

(It’s always a day a-way…. until it’s not. Slowly, then all at once.)

Thur. April 29, 2021 – ah, a breather, not…

Warm and moist again, possible rain. I had to water the potted plants yesterday, we haven’t gotten any real rain in days despite the spatterings and grumbles.

I spent yesterday mostly driving around, and buying a truck. Details are in the comments yesterday, but basically, I got lucky and something new came on the market after I backed away from another deal. In general, the car buying experience is very different than even just 5 or 6 years ago. Being able to get Carfax reports for pretty much any potential vehicle, and see the original window sticker for most, really helps to even the playing field for the buyer. The new style sellers like Carmax and Carvana offer significant ‘peace of mind’ benefits, and well done search tools, with out of market transfers as well. They are disruptors and will probably change used car sales for all the traditional dealers too. My experience was also a classic example of being flexible, and ready to move when the opportunity presented itself. Unless this truck is a lemon, I got a great deal and it’s because I knew what a great deal looked like, and I was very lucky with timing. I’ll be very glad to get this whole thing behind me and to stop spending time and energy on it.

Between the two trucks, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and the other stuff this and last month, I’m feeling very behind where I’d like to be. I’ve got to start making some progress.

To that end, I think the electrician is coming to do my transfer switch install today, or possibly tomorrow. My wife scheduled it, and I can’t remember. I’m hoping for tomorrow. I’ve also got piled up groceries to put away, additions to my FIFO can organizer to get set up and stocked, and auction stuff to stack for delivery.

I note that Biden’s DOJ is going after his political opponents. I guess the gentleman’s agreement is null and void. When will we see raids and indictments for the Clintons? Oh right.

The end is nigh-er. Stack it high-er.

nick

Fri. April 23, 2021 – Blank page, so much potential, but…

Cool again, an supposedly rain with nasty stuff mixed in. Yesterday was nice, most of the day was clear, with some occasional overcast. Not to hot, but a little sweaty. Very light rain started around 11pm.

I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked because I felt just a bit weird all day. My back was kind of on edge, with my neck doing strange feeling things, and I felt a bit dizzy at times. Not a day for a lot of driving, or hard lifting. (I mention it mainly so I have a record of it, not because I am looking for anything, part of this is a daily journal for me too. I was surprised when looking at old posts that it’s been 2 months since I thought about doing an article on buckets for example. Time flies lately.)

I did get some stuff moved out of the house and into storage. Some food got stored and organized, and some pantry stuff got restocked. Some small cleanup happened. A couple of auction items were picked up. I’ve got some tools and radio stuff still waiting for pickup today. House looks a bit better but there is still a lot of stuff here. I’m meeting with one of my local auctioneers today, and hopefully I can talk him into taking another big delivery. The auctioneer I was supposed to drop off the last of my next auction with yesterday begged off, she wasn’t feeling good after her second moderna shot. I hope she’s doing better today, I’d like to get the 450 pokemon cards I’m selling into her next toy and collectible auction.

Out in the wider world, I’m hoping that we get a little pause, a little chance to draw breath and rearrange our worldview before the next step down the slope. Heck, it would be nice to not take the next step down, but I don’t think that is likely at all.

I’d really like some more ‘normal’ time to get stuff in order. Lots of projects to do, lots of preps to stack, lots of stuff to sell, all dependent on things holding together for a while longer.

We’ve got a little time, use it wisely. Plenty of things that need stacking.

nick

Thur. April 22, 2021- the rules changed.

Cool and wet, possible rain. Yesterday was so nice though. So very nice and clear, moderate temps, and sunny… I don’t know how many more we’ll get like that.

I packed my day full of errands, and I did them this time. Two pickups, very near to each other, then on the way back, stops at my secondary (to unload some stuff), my rent house (to install the fridge), another auctioneer (to drop off sale items and pick up a check), and finally back home to get kid2 from school on time.

After that, I hit the grocery store for $330 worth of food security.

I don’t have quite as much on the schedule for today, nor are the times as tight, but I do hope to get a few things done.

I am getting the feeling that I might need to take some more drastic steps to clear out ‘stuff’ around the house. The plan was to start doing my own auctions, but it’s taking a long time and time is feeling short. I need to think on this a bit.

Time feels short because I think the rules have changed for how the world works. The interwebs are full of people saying that the difference between how antifa/blm and MAGA day in DC are treated, the outcome of the Chauvin trial, and a wide variety of other events show that Rule of Law or ROL is dead in the US. The corpse is still twitching, but it’s dead. People are saying that, but I don’t think they are following through and thinking about the rest of what that means. What you do and how you react to a country WROL* is going to be THE critical thing going forward.

Someone in the comments over at Sarah Hoyt’s place had this to say (minor edits for clarity)…

The rules changed.

All over the ‘net people are saying and saying and re-saying that ROL is dead in the US. Surprise! It’s been dead for a while now, and every case like this just exposes that to more Normies. So stop and think about what that means. Rule of Law is DEAD. Internalize that. REALLY internalize that. You (general ‘you’) have to start dealing with that idea. They can and will do whatever they want to us at any point that we come to their attention. No one will come to save us. No one will blow the ceiling and fast rope down to rescue us at the last minute.

What does history teach us about times like this? You must be ready to denounce the people that come to ‘their’ attention. You must expect your friends and relations to denounce YOU when they come for you. Why would you want them dragged to the gulag (real or virtual) along with you? If you want to have a chance at changing anything you have to remain free and effective. Your friends LIKEWISE have to remain free to act.

There won’t be any gofundme to replace a conservative’s burned out house. No gofundme to heal his daughter after she’s raped at school because her father is a ‘bad’ man and she deserves it. No gofundme to replace the lost job that feeds that daughter (and buys the guns and ammo and armor and radios and medical and every other needful thing.) There is no underground to move your family to safety after the mob catches you alone. There is no established safe haven for you to flee to. There is no way to start over in a new place with a new name once panopticon focuses on YOU and your family (seriously, look at any kid moved to a new school because of bullying or any other issue, the kids have the new kid doxed eight ways to Sunday within hours.)

The other thing that history teaches us is that This Too Shall Pass. You (Sarah) have even written about it here. They can’t hold it together. The Third Reich fell. The Soviet Union fell. Communist Cuba is going to fall. People SURVIVED those times and those places. They may have even acted to hasten the fall if they were able. There were lots who didn’t survive, and some of them included the principled, the committed, and ultimately the futile sacrifice.

[I don’t intend to sacrifice myself for an ideal, especially given the current legal environment.]

My daughter wants her Daddy. I want to be here to guide and protect her thru what’s coming. I can’t do that if I’m dead or destitute. It’d be cold comfort for her to know that her father loved an ideal more than her. I’d love to think she’d rally around my banner, but the more likely outcome is hating me for leaving her alone in the Brave New World, or only marginally less worse, raised by her lefty Kennedy worshiping [east coast] grandparents to hate me for leaving her alone.

The rules have changed. If we don’t survive, there won’t be anyone left to rebuild what was lost.

I intend to survive this.

Something to think about. While you’re stacking needful things.

nick

*this in no way means “without consequences”. The consequences of your actions are potentially more severe than ever.

Wed. April 21, 2021 – and here we go! not in a good way though…

Cool and pleasant ending in downright cold is the forecast, but what do they know? It was beautiful all day on Tuesday. Chamber of Commerce weather. Some of you older guys will recognize that phrase. (Means it was nice out young’uns.)

So naturally I spent the day inside. I thought, “Gee, I better get busy on finding a truck, everything I read says the price is going up and the supply is going down.” And so I resigned myself to paying a little more and figured I’d have some candidates by noon. Not so much. I actually called on 4 or 5 vehicles and they were all in the process of being sold, or had already sold. New strategy will be scan the listings every day and jump if something is right for me. Or I’ll have to pay a lot more, or accept a lot less than I would like. It’s interesting that with the Expeditions I’m looking at, they really don’t sort out consistently. Every other mass market thing I’ve looked at there seemed to be “bins” or clusters of attributes around certain prices. That isn’t so true with the Expedition, it seems that the single most important thing is mileage, and particularly total miles, not necessarily miles per year. I’m going to assume, based on the years I owned my old truck and my experiences with it, that what drives that is limited longevity of the motor. At some point it will cost you a bunch of money, so you want as many miles of use as you can get before that point. A low miles 2017 is worth more than a high miles 2019 for example. Crazy, but now I know better what to look for.

And I want something pretty soon. Things are getting bad quicker than I thought, and getting a newer reliable truck that will hold a bunch of stuff and my whole family is moving to the top of the list, right behind a place out in the country to get away to… And on that front, there is a real fixer upper priced right, on one of the lakes my wife likes, but the agent has been very lax getting back to us. That tells me it’s probably effectively sold already. What I really hope is that in a year I won’t be hating that we passed on the self-sufficient 11 acre property because we’re in real trouble. That would suck mightily.

Regarding MN and jury intimidation, well, that’s what it looks like from here. I didn’t see the evidence presented in the courtroom, but I would have thought that the official coroner’s report listing the cause of death as pretty much anything BUT the officer’s actions, would have mooted the whole murder charge, and probably the manslaughter as well. If the coroner is so incompetent or politically compromised that his report can’t be trusted, then he needs to be removed immediately. And if it can be trusted, “reasonable doubt” should have taken care of the rest. Since he’s not being removed, and since I saw witness intimidation, and jury intimidation reported widely and in fact GLEEFULLY, that’s what I’m going with. Nothing good will come of this.

Whites will not allow themselves to become second class citizens in the country their ancestors built. I don’t care how much cuckold and BBC pron you shove at them, they just aren’t gonna take it forever. The worst case for what happens is a decimation* of the black population of the US. I don’t think that’s likely btw. I’m not sure when or where the sniping and street fighting will start, or where the old monsters will come out to play, but it will happen now. It’s only a question of how widespread it becomes, and how long it lasts. How it ends, I’ve got no idea. The knock on effects- martial law, oppressive destruction of freedoms, local massacres, roundups- are going to bring the rest down too. Fundamental change, it’s coming alright.

I’m pretty sure that all over America there are people who marked the verdict as just one more step on the countdown. People who are making plans, thinking about contingencies, wondering if it’s too late, or not soon enough. Someone, if there are enough of them, someone will do the math and decide it’s time.

For us, I think it’s certainly time to consider your lifestyle, your public persona, your exposure to the wider world, and to decide how you want to proceed. On the one hand, you can pull in, go ‘grey man’, order your affairs so that you fit in, and arrange to get through the bad stuff as best you can. On the other hand, if you’ve been assuming you had freedom of speech and freedom to act, well, there are people who made a note of that, and no matter what you do, they’ll be ready to denounce you when the time is right. Whether for their own benefit, or because they truly believe they are ‘helping’ you, they’ll do it. History tells us that pretty clearly. Pulling in won’t save you. Going balls out won’t save you either. So what can you do?

On the gripping hand, maybe I’m just feeling hysterical today. Although I’m quite sure there were Germans who felt like it couldn’t get that bad. And Poles. And Russians. And Venezuelans. And Cubans. And Argentinians. And South Africans. And Frenchmen. And even Loyalists in 1776. And they were ALL WRONG at some point in history.

Stack it up.

nick

*decimation in the literal sense won’t be enough. Decimate that data set several times in a row though, and you might get to a point where no one has the will to continue.

Tues. April 20, 2021 – special day for the dopey, not for me

Cool and sunny, scattered showers. That’s what we had yesterday. Beautiful blue sky, sun, and the occasional spatter of rain for a few minutes.

I made my dropoff at the auctioneer. He doesn’t want the second load today as he’s full up. I will be able to drop off a couple of big lab microscopes Thursday or Friday, if I can find the eyepieces. I’ve got several bins for the other auctioneer, and settlement to do for my last auction with her. She has a bunch of stuff already for the next auction, but I’ve got more waiting… I think I’m going to have to do some ebay listings because I’ve got more than anyone wants.

I picked up my new rent house fridge, so I hope to install it today too. Didn’t get in touch with the tenants yesterday but she works from home so it shouldn’t be an issue.

Then work the list some more. I am building a little bit of momentum that I want to keep going.

All I can say about the news is, there are now several places in the US with Army NG manning perimeters and providing security. If that doesn’t give you chills, I don’t know what will. And did anyone else notice how the local PD was outfitted for the search for their erstwhile colleague who went all shooty all of a sudden? See the pic of the one with the shotgun strapped to his side? It was stuck in his belt and strapped up under his arm. Pistol and rifle completed the loadout. So the PD has short barreled shotties in holsters and as part of their load out to make entry now? The guys were in full battle rattle. Cops. Cops that are undergoing a very strong selection pressure at the moment. Who’s gonna be left and what will their attitude be in a few months?

Keep stacking.

n