Category: march to war

Mon. Nov. 9, 2026 – rushing headlong towards 2027…

Cool and wet is the forecast for today and tomorrow. Doesn’t mean I’ll get rain, but it’s likely to be cold and grey. As it was yesterday. We are in the ‘rain and T-storms possible’ part of the national map. I’m hoping we don’t get rain here.

I did get a few things done yesterday. I did a little more work on the golf cart. I could have done the project as I originally intended, just get it moving, but decided to do at least a half decent job on the body. That and other obligations means it’s taken a lot more calendar than I hoped, but not many extra hours. I’m only working on it an hour or two at a time.

I did a few small things too. Still haven’t refreshed the poison bait in the bait boxes. It’s not a favorite task, so I keep putting it off. Now that it’s cold though, I better just do it. I don’t want SeƱor Raton to decide he wants to be warm in the house…

I’ve got a doctor appointment this afternoon and pickups this morning, so I should have some time late in the day to do a few of the things on my list. Maybe. Depending on weather. And motivation.

Motivation I’m lacking. Stacks I’m stacking.

nick

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Sun. Nov. 8, 2026 – time keeps on slippin’…

Another slightly cool day? I hope so. Yesterday ended up being very nice. The overcast, and later partial clouds, kept the sun at bay, and the temperature was mild, mid 70sF most of the day. A nice day to be outside.

I slept in until 10am, then did auction stuff for a while. Finally got up and out and finished up the decorations. I also did some cleaning and organizing in the donor truck (where I now have a bin of holiday lighting, instead of a big pile) and in the yard. I’m gradually getting the donor truck ready to do the big parts swap.

Cleaning up the decor and some other minor stuff took a few hours, which didn’t leave much light to do my body work on the cart. I got to the point where I should be able to do a few tweaks and glue the new panel in place today. Then I’ll connect the drive systems and give it a test. If the rain holds off, I’ll install the brake light and turn signal kit too. Then it’ll be time to see if the dang thing drives.

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Turns out that other people are looking at the numbers and voting patterns and there are some things that don’t look right. We’ll see how that plays out, and if there is really something there. My gut says “yes” partly because “we are teh sux so of course we lost” just doesn’t ring true, and too many places are pushing that for it to be entirely natural. It feels a bit like when Bidden didn’t even bother to campaign. It won’t change anything unless there is a true smoking gun, but this time around Trump knows his life hangs in the balance. I hope there is still enough political capital to push for the truth.

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If there is proof, expect a whole lotta violence at street level. Otherwise, I don’t expect the violence until later, as the left got what they wanted for the moment. When they feel secure, they will start pushing.

Either way, having a nice stack of preps will help you get through.

nick

(preppers are like gold bugs, it’s always a good time to buy gold, and always a good time to prep)

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Sat. Nov. 7, 2026 – hope the rain misses us

Because I’ve got stuff to do. Yesterday was another nice day. Sunny and mild, no rain, reasonable humidity. Mid 60sF at night. There were some threatening clouds later in the day, and the national forecast has us on the edge of possible T-storms and rain today and tomorrow. Better for me if we get more nice days.

I spent yesterday doing a big loop of pickups. Some stuff for the household, some for the BOL. Mostly minor stuff, as I have the major stuff pretty well covered at this point. I wouldn’t say no to more solar, more generators, medical stuff, or noisemakers… but it has been about refining, upgrading, extending, and building depth for a while. There is a need to replace stuff due to ‘breakage’ or the passage of time, and to upgrade as better options become available. That process never ends.

Today if it’s mild and dry, I’ll get the rest of the Halloween decor put away and some more Thanksgiving/Fall themed stuff put out. I did get the inflatables changed out. I had a giant witch with a pumpkin cauldron that was new this year and now I have a 10ft tall turkey holding a sign that says “Happy Thanksgiving”… Classy, right?

I also need to continue the cart repair. And poison some rats. And ants. I’m using this on the ants, and this on the rats. Both work very well.

I’m sure some other things will pop up to fill up my day too.

Stack while you can.

nick

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Fri. Nov. 6, 2026 – Busy week. Busy weekend.

Cooler, and hopefully drier. The forecast showed some possible T-storms and rain just south of us, but that usually means it won’t get here. When the prevailing winds meet the Gulf air, you never really know what’s happening until it happens. 65F when I went to bed.

Spent yesterday morning on the computer buying stuff for my client and doing auction stuff. Then I headed to school for another rehearsal. It went well. Still finding hardware issues and config issues (overlapping frequency use between mics) but I feel like we have to have found them all now. Show is sounding pretty good. I was able to work on quality of sound issues and we haven’t had that luxury in the three years I’ve been helping out.

In the evening I won a couple of small things.

Which means I have pickups today after all.

I’ll do more computer stuff in the morning, and pickups in the afternoon.

I thought I’d won a Yugo noisemaker in 7.62 for $325 but someone sniped me and got it for $350. That’s half of retail or possibly even 1/3. I was frankly shocked it didn’t go for retail. If I thought it would be so close, I’d have paid attention or set a higher max bid. I set my max before election day and didn’t adjust it. Someone SCORED.

Inventory your stacks and fill any gaps.

nick

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Thur. Nov. 5, 2026 – Still juggling commitments

Chilly. Fall is here. 61F when I went to bed. Of course it’s Houston so it was warm enough for shorts during the day. We’ll be running A/C in the day and heat at night soon. At least it was a clear and mostly beautiful day.

Which I spent indoors. In the morning I did office work and auction stuff, and personal maintenance. Shaved and cut my hair. In the afternoon, I helped at the kid’s old school theater rehearsal. That took me until after dark, at 6pm. I spent some time bringing in some small decorations after that, and putting what I could back in the attic.

Today I’ll do office stuff in the morning and another rehearsal in the afternoon. Maybe I’ll have time to bring in a few more decorations if they are dry.

The next few weeks are going to be strange. There will be a lot of fallout from the elections as people reposition for the changes. I’m astonished how quickly the right has gone down the “we lost because we are teh sux” road. I guess after not being believed about the rampant cheating last time, no one wants to go there again… and there was cheating. LOTS of it. It was just slick and well managed this time. It will come out. Just like last time. Even the dem winners in essentially uncontested places don’t make sense if real people are actually voting.

My response is the same as always. Prepare for bad times, and if they don’t come, celebrate.

Stack. It’s gonna get worse. Lots worse. They’ve already told us as much.

nick

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Wed. Nov. 4, 2026 – nice break, but back at it

After yesterday’s rain and cold front, I hope today will be dry and mild. Not holding my breath, but one can hope. It was 66F when I went out for my tiny little fire, down from the mid 70sF during the rain. Heck, it was into the 80sF before the rain started. Dry and mild would be nice.

Slept in a bit, then did auction stuff, until I went out to do my pickup. Spent the rest of the afternoon poking at stuff at the shop. I should be able to take another load to the auctioneer next Tuesday.

Today I’ll do some stuff in the morning. I need to order some stuff for my client’s upgrades, and do some design work for my buddy’s new store cams. That should eat most of the day. In the afternoon, I’m headed to school for another rehearsal. In the late afternoon, if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll put some decorations away. We’ll see what happens.

Things look to be getting more fractious and contentious at home and abroad. All reasons to stack, in a stealthy way.

nick

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Tues. Nov. 3, 2026 – get out and vote

Another warm and very humid day? Probably, although there was a good breeze coming north from the Gulf of America last night. It was not crazy hot yesterday, but the humidity was close to saturation again. Makes it kinda chilly when the temp does fall.

Did my pickups in the morning. Nice haul of hand tools, and a couple of other things for the house and the BOL. Tried to get a third pickup in, but he’s only open for pickup on Tues. and Wed. so I’ll get him today. Stopped by my shop to unload, and did a tiny bit of sorting. Tried to get some work done on the cart but ran out of daylight.

Today I’ll sleep in. The kids don’t have school, so I don’t have to get up before the sun to see them off. Then I’ll vote and do my pickup. Probably come home and do more on the cart. I really want to see it move under its own power. If it does, I’ll need to change the batteries.

I should put some of the Halloween decor away too, and put out the “harvest/fall/Thanksgiving” stuff. Ah, so much to do. And none of it on my critical list. Work avoidance mode levels up!

Seriously though, morally I don’t think you can complain about the government if you don’t vote, and I like to complain. No matter the cheating, the lies, the fraud, and the fact that they’re ALL b@stards, voting is a fundamental part of what we are as a nation. Go out and do it. If nothing else, the chatter in line will give you a better idea of what ‘Joe Sixpack’ is thinking.

So vote. And stack, because they’re all b@stards and are trying to break everything.

nick

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Sun. Nov. 1, 2026 – suddenly it’s November??

At least it’s a cool November. It was 74F and slowly falling when I went to bed, so I’m wondering how cool it will be today. Yesterday was warm, but the air was saturated so I was soaked with sweat just putting out the last of the Halloween decorations. It was oppressively humid. At least that eased off last night.

Had a good Halloween. Got enough decorations out that I felt like it was a good effort. Not as crazy as previous years, but still looked good. We had a fair number of kids come by, mostly young. Couple of neighbors came by before dark with very little ones. I had a box of small plush toys (like little beanie babies, but not branded) and the little kids loved those. I’d run them through the laundry, and I washed all the little toys we offered too. I heard from some of the parents that other people in the neighborhood were offering toys as well as candy so my idea is spreading. One on the street was offering little Playdough cups.

I also found time to leave a long and detailed comment over at Commander Zero’s about food storage. He’d linked a video that was a good jumping off point for discussion, and the comments should develop into something interesting.

Today I’ll take down some of the decorations. I like to see them up, so I leave the ones that are least objectionable for a while. If there is rain and they are wet, they stay up until they can dry out.

Then I’ll be back to working on the list.

Stacking is good. So is being part of your community.

nick

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Fri. Oct. 30, 2026 – almost Halloween

And we’re supposed to maybe get rain on Saturday. I’d rather get it over with today and have a nice Halloween. Yesterday was nice. Cool, some overcast, no rain though. 72F when I sat out last night.

I spent the morning working with the kids on remaining audio issues to get ready for the afternoon rehearsal. Then I did some paperwork for the show and bought a couple of fittings for my little organizer project. Didn’t have time before the rehearsal, so I ended up staying after for a couple more hours. Did notes with the director, and a review of where we’re at and where she thinks we could be. We’ve still got 12 days — a couple more work days and rehearsals to go, so we’re in good shape.

People are not widgets. They are not ‘replaceable’. Every one has unique talents and skills. The woman who has run the school’s drama program for the last decades is fighting breast cancer for the second time, but this time it’s stage four and terminal. Doctors say about a year. She’s doing chemo and intends to do it to the end. The school’s drama program is likely to continue, but it won’t be the same. She has a way with the kids and parents, and is widely loved. Over the years, lot’s of people have bent over backward to help her however they could. Someone else might step in, but they won’t ‘replace’ her.

With enough effort and school records, you could probably count the lives of the students that she’s influenced and made better, but you can’t count the number of people they’ve gone on to influence and shape. There are a lot of people like her out there. Most of them probably don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Today I’ll go in and see if I can talk with the sound crew about WHY we do things the way we do and how to approach a project like this show. Maybe it will provide dividends for them down the road.

Then I’ll stay for a bit and finish my organizer project. After that, if it isn’t raining, I might do a bit more decor. I enjoy it, and everyone that comes by tomorrow will hopefully enjoy it too.

Spend some time with people and with your community. Leave it a little better than you found it. THAT is the secret of Western Civilization.

And stack. Because so many don’t.

nick

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Thur. Oct. 29, 2026 – the witching hour approaches

And we might have nice weather for it, as we’re getting our overdue rain now… At least a little bit of rain. In different parts of Houston there were different amounts of moisture from the sky yesterday. The ground didn’t really stay wet, and my wipers didn’t get a workout, but there were some drops, and some puddles. Temps were mild but humidity was high. More today wouldn’t be bad if it meant great weather on Halloween.

Did several hours of volunteering yesterday morning. I think were finally in a place where everything should work, and I’ve already addressed the issues from their first rehearsal. I followed that up with a huge loop to do pickups, ending at my shop. Unloaded some stuff there and poked at a couple of things. Came home to an empty house. Everyone came home a bit later but I saw them for less than 5 minutes. Oh well.

Today I’ll start with audio work, then do a quick pickup, and maybe some material buying, and then back to school for the afternoon rehearsal. I expect to have some conflict with the assistant director about levels. There is only so much loud before the pain and feedback and I intend to keep it below that point. She seems to want MOR SOUND! 24 mics open on stage. Yeah. More noise and more painful screeching, and then figure in the feedback….

I’m hoping to have Friday clear. There are a couple of things I still want to get done that I haven’t had time for with the volunteering.

I did add to the stacks with some of my last round of pickups. And I’ll keep adding, but I’ll be engaging with the world around me too.

nick

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