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Category: decline and fall

Sat. Oct. 17, 2026 – yep, more to do

Cold. Windy. Dry. NICE. I don’t think it got above 77F yesterday and the wind blew most of the day. It was 63F when I went to bed. We are forecast for 50sF this weekend. Fall has arrived.

So of course, the last thing that happened yesterday was my tenant texting that the HVAC wasn’t blowing at the rent house. Yup. I was nearby so I checked. The blower motor wasn’t spinning and was too hot to touch. She can use the roll around unit if she needs to while we fix or replace the system. It’s old. And broke three times this year. It’s time to replace it.

I spent the afternoon before that doing pickups. Checked in with my previous auctioneer. Picked up a folding deck chair. I was hoping for teak, but it turned out to be just treated 2x lumber. Still, nice. Picked up the small chest freezer and took it to my shop. Spent some time there sorting and stacking for my next auction. Went by the secondary location and got the power cord I need for the golf cart charger. Trying to keep some momentum flowing.

There is always more to do. And more to stack.

Don’t falter.

nick

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Fri. Oct. 16, 2026 – 10162026 – Friday already.

Generally trending cooler but still some heat left in the day. It was cooler to start and finish yesterday. I am hopeful for more nice weather as Fall progresses.

Did some stuff yesterday. I relisted several things on Craigslist, lowering prices. The rest of the day was mostly sitting at the computer and figuring out what to order to move my various projects forward. I ordered all the parts for the golf cart. I ordered bulbs for my third brake light on the Ranger. Turns out the module I stole off the parts truck wasn’t working. It’s really hard to tell, when you can’t step on the brake and see the light… But I finally saw it in a window reflection when in reverse, and it wasn’t lighting up.

Since I got a fixit ticket, I’m a bit chagrined that my fix didn’t work and I’ve been driving like that for a couple of weeks. Since it had LED bulbs in it, I took it apart and applied test voltage. The bulb was installed backwards, and LEDs need correct polarity. So I put it all back together and remounted the unit. I ordered replacement bulbs because the plastic holding the LED bulbs together crumbled when I touched it.

The unit is common across a wide range of Ford truck models and there are dozens of custom aftermarket versions available if I wanted to replace the whole unit. That’s one advantage of driving something very common. Aside from electronic considerations, an older F-150 is probably a good choice for a post collapse vehicle. There are so many on the road, and so many parts in common, that parts availability and salvage/looting should be able to keep one running for a long time. Something that can’t be said for the Avalanche or Aztek…

I also ordered a replacement sealing gasket, which had failed a long time ago and is apparently a common problem. Just another reason to drive older and common vehicles- parts for common problems are widely available and cheap.

After crashing for a couple of hours from too many carbs at lunch, I got out some Halloween decorations and put them up. Some went outside, some are indoor things. I think I probably won’t do a big themed display this year, but I do want to try a couple of new things if I have the time. Right now, with just an hour or two, I have more stuff up than most of my neighbors.

Today I’ll do an auction pickup. I won another 7 cuft chest freezer for $65. I’ll keep it empty as a backup for a freezer failure, and just in case someone gets a nice sized deer and wants to share with me. W will not be pleased, so I’ll probably take it to the shop. In another auction I got parts for electrical stuff and for fixing some minor stuff to resell if I get the time, and for the BOL dock. I think I spent around $100 this week on auctions, and that is an order of magnitude less than I used to spend.

I still have to hit Costco for candy. Maybe they’ll have other stuff I need too.

Last tank of major brand gas got me almost 16mpg in mixed but mostly highway driving. I haven’t had a chance to get back to Costco to fill up and see if another tank will give me the higher mileage I got on the last Costco fill up. Gas is just under $4/gallon at the majors, and 50c cheaper at discounters, but if they are mixing in too much ethanol, it’s a false economy. My last fill up at QuikTime the pump said 10% ethanol, so we’ll see.

It was a short week, but I advanced several projects that have been on the list for a long time. And I added to the stacks. Good things.

Keep working and stacking.

nick

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Thur. Oct. 15, 2026 – already the week is almost gone…

I’m hoping for a bit cooler and drier today. That seems to be the trend, but still we’re getting hot and humid more than I’d like in October. National forecast might have us in T-storms possible, but it’s really sensitive to the pressure coming off the Gulf, and very hard to know where the edge of the front will be.

I didn’t get quite as much done as I’d hoped but still advanced a couple of things. I did some more inspection of the cart, and took a more detailed look at the electrical for the lighting and accessories. Also did some domestic bliss, and my auction pickup. Even got some sorting time at the shop for my next auction. Not the most productive day but far from the least.

Today I’ve got carry over stuff from yesterday, and all the rest of the list. I’m not focusing on any one task, we’ll just see what I can get done. That seems to work ok if I’m already building momentum. I’ve got to get some Halloween decor out too. I’m pretty sure it will be a minor display this year. I don’t have any good inspiration, nor do I have much new stuff, so it’ll probably be store bought stuff and a mish mash at that. Maybe some blacklight stuff…

I’m sure I’ll fit some stacking in there somewhere.

nick

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Tues. Oct. 13, 2026 – halfway to Halloween

Warm. Humid. Probably hot later, although I haven’t checked the national forecast. It was nice at the BOL until it got steamy moist and mid to high 80sF. Then I was soaked to the skin just riding the mower. And it was 80F when I got back to Houston last night.

I slept in and missed my “cool morning” so I didn’t do any attic work. I did continue to advance a couple of other tasks though, and ended the day mowing my lot and the park. Some of the grass grew a lot. Some that is always in direct sun, well, it just got crunchy. Fixing the irrigation is definitely back on the to do list.

Today I was going to do some volunteer work, we’ll see how I feel when I get up. Back was in spasms last night when I got home, so I might not feel up to it. If not, I’ve got a truck load of golf cart parts to install, and the alignment ‘shim kit’ arrived for the Ranger, so I can take that in if I have time. And of course, all the other stuff is still there.

It’ll be busy, I’m sure of that. Doing what? That’s the mystery.

Stack.

nick

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Mon. Oct. 12, 2026 – bringing civilization to the savages day

Cool to start, but getting pretty warm late in the day. It was at least in the high 80sF yesterday afternoon, and maybe a bit beyond. Cool night though, with a nice breeze after dusk. I’m hoping for more of the same today.

I slept in but still got a couple of the tasks further toward completion. I put off the attic stuff until today as it was pretty hot by the time I was ready to crawl into it.

Today will be continuing on those things, and maybe landing the circuits into the breaker panel. I’ll mow late in the day before I head home. I’m sure there will be some other smaller tasks like applying another de-greasing treatment to the leather chair I bought and brought up weeks ago. The commercial treatment really does work, it just needs several applications.

Anyway, plenty of stuff from the stacks will be coming home with me to advance the golf cart project, and several items were used in yesterday’s work. Prepping for the win!

Stack what you’ll need later, if you can find it now and the price is right.

nick

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Sun. Oct. 11, 2026 – at the BOL, working

Cooler for certain. Yesterday was nice, mid 80sF high and somewhat muggy in the afternoon, but until then it was cool. 72F when I got to the BOL with a very light fog in the valleys. Hopefully today will be cool.

Did my non-prepping hobby meeting, then came home and napped for a few hours. Loaded the truck and headed to the BOL. Still managed to forget a big box. Arrived without incident despite some light fog in the valleys.

Today I’ll sleep in a bit, then see what I feel like doing on the list. There is electrical work to do. I’d like to finish the circuits I ran for the server closet, the bath fans, and the towel warmer. I’ve got lighting to replace on the dock too. And mowing and and and…

Lot’s of folks up for the long weekend.

There’s always more to do. Don’t falter. And keep stacking.

nick

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Sat. Oct. 10, 2026 – hobby day, then off to the BOL?

Cooler and drier than lately, but still with sunshine and blue sky. That’s my hope anyway as I left the chair I bought in the back of the truck… It was nice all day yesterday, even a bit cool in the shade. Fall has arrived.

Slept in, then did office and auction stuff in the morning, followed by a pickup and auction stuff in the afternoon and evening. Bit of a late night playing kid taxi.

Today is my non-prepping hobby meeting. I am still planning to head to the BOL for a couple of days following that. I’ll have to see how tired I am, but that’s the plan as of now.

I’ve got a load of stuff to take up, and stuff to do while there. And that list won’t do itself.

Always be stacking, and always be improving.

Life is short.

nick

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Fri. Oct. 9, 2026 – couple of things to do today

And we might have a slightly cooler day to do them. It was pretty nice yesterday, just a bit warmer than I’d have liked, especially in the sun, but humidity was a bit lower which helped. I’m hoping today is even cooler and drier, as that would really help sell the idea of Fall. Still 79F when I went to bed though.

Did my volunteer effort at the middle school. District guy brought a piece of gear to swap out for the dead one. The dead one did have some slightly swollen caps on the PSU board, but I’ve seen worse in running gear, so IDK if that really was the issue. In any case we swapped it out and were back up and running. We made a couple of additional changes that will help the kids with some minor but tedious issues. I’ll be going back next week to go through every mic and channel and make sure it’s working. There isn’t enough time to share anything with the kids AND troubleshoot.

Spent the afternoon doing a couple of pickups. I got a “Relax the Back” lazyboy style massage chair for cheap. Now I need to decide where it will live. I’m thinking bedroom, but it might replace a bigger fatter chair at the BOL. That would make a bit more room in the living room area. I’m sure my fisherman buddy would like a new chair.

Today I’m sleeping in as the kids’ have the day off. Youngest still has an event to do tonight, and I have my hobby meeting on Saturday, so no heading to the BOL. I might still go up by myself Saturday night to do some work, and cut the grass. We’ve all got Monday off so I’d have a normal weekend up there.

Later today I’ll do a pickup or possibly two, and then work on the cart or my office. I couldn’t find distilled water at the HEB, so I’ll have to figure out where to get some, or get out and run the distiller I have tucked away. I’d like to top up the cart batteries and see if they take a charge.

I’m sure there will be other tasks tacked onto my list.

Keep working on it. And stacking. Ebola and global conflict are still out there.

nick

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Thur. Oct. 8, 2026 – busy and getting busier

At least Fall has finally arrived. It’s still hot but the humidity is lower and so is the max temperature. It was pleasant all day yesterday and the sun wasn’t set on ‘brain broil’. It was 77F by the time I finished my evening quiet time.

I spent part of the morning doing office stuff, then I spent some time poking at the golf cart. I cut away some of the melted plastic body, took a cover off, and triaged the damaged bits. The solenoid and motor controller look ok. The motor controller got VERY hot though, so I’m going to replace it anyway. I’ll test the solenoid before making a decision about it. The Forward/Reverse switch seems to have been the start of the fire and suffered the most heat damage. Luckily the wiring harness will just need some ends spliced on, and not complete replacement. The fat DC cables to the motor look fine. I’ll order the parts later today. After looking at video of a golf cart burning down a home after being subjected to flood water, I don’t think swapping for a liIon battery system is a good idea anymore.

Speaking of today, I’ll spend a few hours this morning at the middle school with the district’s staff guy, poking at stuff. If we can confirm the PSU is toast, that should move the district’s replacement policy along, and I can move on to working on the theater program’s show without worrying about it.

After that, I’ll do a pickup and head home to poke at the cart. And continue working on my client’s issues, and probably go grocery shopping. And I’m sure there will be at least one more ‘and’ before I’m done…

Keep working. Keep stacking. Keep improving.

nick

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Wed. Oct. 7, 2026 – this first week is flying by

Some relief from Summer. A bit cooler yesterday and a lot less humid, made for a pleasant day to drive around. The sun was even a bit less broiling. I would like to have the same today. Maybe Fall is starting to assert itself.

Spent the day doing stuff to get the new golf cart home. Uhaul trailer rental, driving out to Montgomery to pick up, returning the trailer, and starting to evaluate the cart took most of the day.

I did get my initial settlement from my second auction. Some stuff went crazy cheap. Some playing cards went for $170 so they must have been even more collectible than I thought when I picked them up. They got my average lot value up to about $12, and I’m getting a better handle on what this auctioneer’s audience likes to buy. It’s funny but they all have slightly different buyers, even though I watch and buy from them all.

Today I am hoping to do a bit more testing and poking at the cart to see what I need to order. It’s a project I didn’t have scheduled, but one that has been on my “when it happens” list for a long time. I don’t want to lose momentum on my other stuff but I need to get it into running condition quickly so I can get back to the list.

I’ve also got some pickups on the west side that have to happen today, and some office work that needs to happen, so I might spend the morning doing stuff at home, and head out in the afternoon. That should be my guiding intent anyway.

We all know what happens when we make plans though.

Just have to keep working, and stacking. Trust the process…

nick

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