Category: ebay

Cool, crisp, sunny and clear. And warmer later. Like yesterday. Second false Spring is over, with morning temps of 53F! but we’ll soon get into real Spring, I’m sure. Until then, I’m loving this Global Cooling. NY and Canadia aren’t gonna like it much.

So yesterday started out pretty blurry. I take meds when I need to, painkillers and antibiotics are the miracles of the modern world, and there’s no shame in using them. Not that there should be. I did mostly office and internet stuff when I finally got out of bed. Felt sore, but nothing like I expected. It really makes a difference to be proactive.

In the afternoon, I did a little cleaning, a little putting away, and I took some stuff to the shop. I am still waiting on an ebay sale to move forward. It will clear up some room and I can finally get my storage unit emptied. And the money won’t hurt.

Today I’ll try to get rid of those cats again, and maybe do some more moving and scrapping. Who knows. W wants me to pick up some free stuff in the neighborhood. A nice desk chair and some other things. Hope the lady is there to meet me on time.

I feel like I’m forgetting something, but I can’t remember what…

Oh well, stack like your life depends on it. It just might.

nick

And I’ll sit it out. Cool to start, warm later. It was very moist last night and the trend has been rising humidity all week. We’ll get rain at some point. As long as it stays relatively cool, even the high humidity hasn’t dampened my love of our current weather. More please.

So I spent the morning doing stuff, then went out to do stuff. And indeed, some stuff did get done. Not all the stuff, or even most of the stuff, but some stuff.

Today, I’ve got to do my speaker install at my client’s house. I’ll do a pickup on the way there (most expensive item on the invoice? $15 for Tide powder) and on the way home I’ll grab another pickup of some other household stuff. I can combine trips, and they are mostly a big loop to the northwest, and back. That saves money and time.

I’ve cut back on buying. There’s less stuff I want or need, and there are fewer auctions tempting me. Plus, some are just farther than I’d like to drive nowadays. With the decrease in sellers, it’s harder to combine trips, especially to distant places. When I started, I could combine 3, 4, 5 or sometimes 6 pickups in one loop down to Dickenson and back. Now I don’t go to Dickenson unless it’s a fantastic deal on something I really need.

There are changes in the secondary/reseller market. They don’t benefit me, the buyer. We’ll see if they even survive or if we go back to a time when only a few big retailers were doing it.

Things change. That is the only constant.

That and the prudence of stacking of course!

nick the prudent…

Hoping for another beautiful day. I’d take a bit less bright sun, and a bit less humidity than yesterday as they were a tiny bit too much. But then again, it’s Spring and it’s supposed to be sunny and moist. Since I’ve got a pickup that can’t wait, I really need it to not rain. National forecast says “clear sky” but we know we can get localized showers in Houston anywhere and any time.

Did some stuff yesterday. Got the scrap that was in the truck dropped off. It’s definitely worth doing, and I’ve got just as much waiting for breakdown. Other than shuttling the kid around and auction stuff, I didn’t get much done. Some domestic bliss. My chonies are folded and put away, as well as the rest of my laundry.

I did some grocery shopping since I needed to pickup a prescription anyway. Soda, juice, snacks, and various things mostly for the kids. Not a cheap day. Only one item was on sale. Kid cost me $500 in doctor visit (eyes- so no insurance) and we haven’t even bought contacts or glasses yet. Dang kids with their wanting to see, and eat.

Today I’ve got some pickups to do. It’ll be a big loop day. I won a nice wood lathe, a dirty, crusty welding machine, some other shop stuff, and several items of classic audio gear. I thought I might need a trailer but I should be able to fit it all on the truck. Gonna be a challenge and some lower back strain… but I’m used to moving heavy things slowly and with minimum effort.

Once the big stuff is loaded, I can make room for the little stuff, like three more propane tanks, and do a couple more pickups. Sometimes, when the opportunity is there, you have to take it.

Propane lasts forever, the 15# BBQ bottles are fairly convenient to move, and I can run lights, cooking, heat, and power generation from them. I’ve got a lot of bottles. I’ve also got the adapters and even some certified refillable 1# bottles for the stuff I standardized on using the small bottles for. And of course the BOL runs on propane, so there is continuity there. Pro tip- put the bottle in a milk crate to keep it from rolling around in the truck or tipping over.

Most of what I bought was for me or the BOL, but there are a few things that were for resale if they’re not running. The lathe for instance, might have a three phase motor. I’ll probably part out the tailstock, banjo, and mounting plate if that is the case, because just those three things sell for over $500 on ebay, and I bought the lathe for $50. Now I’d love another lathe, but I’ve already got a couple, and I don’t need a project. We’ll see. Money is good, but I do like stuff.

Keep working to improve your situation, and stacking what you’ll need.

nick

Slightly less hot, and small chance of rain, which is a nice change from ‘normal’. Even yesterday was slightly less humid, you could see that the air was clearer than it has been. Any change to “less” is a good change.

I finished up my hobby thing. Show floor was very dead Sunday. It’s always challenging to keep some exhibitors from leaving early, but this was a crazy number that left. Added to having fewer exhibitors to start with and Sunday was DEAD. I had some sales though, about $225, on Sunday. Lots of smalls, and really tiny margins, but I did move stuff. The big items didn’t budge.

Talking with others there, they sold some things, but the excitement was missing. One guy said it was because people were ‘scared’. They are worried about war and violence and the economy failing. He new about the new ammunition factory and about the new chip fabs, and their importance if war breaks out. Everyone mentioned inflation.

It was another data point, another reality check for me. A broad cross-section of folks, all with the same concerns.

An ill wind is blowing, and lots of folks have their finger in the air, trying to take its measure.

After I got everything packed and we cleaned out the venue, I came home and fell asleep for a couple hours. W and the Ds woke me when they got home. They had a good time with friends at the lake. Then I took the trailer and unloaded at my storage unit. Decided to put it all there, instead of putting some at the secondary location. I unloaded the rest back at home.

Today I’ll return the trailer, and hopefully my ranger will be ready for pickup. Once I get that sorted, I can get back to normal stuff here at the Casa De Nick. I’ll probably do an auction pickup too.

Lots to do, lots to stack, and no one knows how much time left. Get busy.

nick