Category: march to war

Another cool-ish Fall day is headed this way. I hope. Yesterday was actually pretty nice as long as I avoided the sun. In the shade, in the breeze, it was pleasant. Oh, it was sweaty, but much less so than recent days. I spent some time working in the garage, and it was ok.

I did sleep in and get a bit of a late start, and I was a bit overwhelmed when I finally got out and walked through some of the stuff that needs doing…

So I decided to just get started by removing a first layer, stuff for the scrap man. Unfortunately, that led me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I did break down a pile of stuff that was in the driveway, and actually blocking the gate, but it was a VERY small change overall. I’d have been better off moving some big stuff around, and making big visible changes.

So that’s what is on today’s agenda. Yes, things need to got to the scrapyard. But things also need big moves and rearranging. The plus is that it will actually complete some things that have been in process for a while, and should make a visual improvement too. IF I get them done.

Which is still kinda up in the air.

Stack some stuff. Do yourself a favor, and stack it neatly the first time…

nick

So I hope it will be cool for most of the day. Should be reasonable, but … yesterday started at 65F but ended just under 90F. It was still nicer out than it has been. I’ll take it for today if that’s what I can get.

Hopefully none of our readers are suffering from Helene. If you were in the path of the storm, let us know what worked and what didn’t.

I got out of the house for a bit yesterday. Had some stomach upset that kept me home until after noon, but then I got out to do a pickup. I hit a local estate sale too. Guy was a bit of an audiophile, a bit of a photographer, and did some woodworking. I got an old Pexto hatchet, some circuit breakers, and a RAID enclosure… because the prices on everything else were crazy high. The sale was run by an english guy and his prices are never good. I probably wouldn’t have even stopped in if I recognized that it was him, even though it was only blocks from my house. The things I bought were not pre-priced and were things he doesn’t care about, so I got lucky.

Then I did my pickup, got the kid from school, and did some grocery shopping. Plenty of in store savings this trip. I had over $12 in coupons… Mostly I needed snacks for the kids’ lunches and sodas. Grabbed some fresh veg, and two chuck roasts that were on sale. Still managed to spend over $300. Push comes to shove, snacks and sodas will be on the chopping block. They are very expensive for what they are.

Today if the weather is nice, I’m doing outside work. I’ve got stuff to do in the garage, attic, driveway, and back yard. I’ve been putting it off for most of the summer and it looks it. Of course, if I catch whatever the wife has, I’ll be laying in bed, not working. That would suck.

I will have a better idea about some of my restocking after I re-stack and rearrange the stuff this time.

There is always something that needs to be re-balanced, or replaced.

Stack all the things111!11!!!1

And look at what you already have.

nick

Cool to start, then hot. No rain for us either, at least not in the forecast. I might have to water the grass… It went from low 70s to low 90s yesterday, but at dusk, it was a very comfortable 80F. I’ve been driving around with the A/C on but the windows down, and it’s nice.

Speaking of driving around, I did one local pickup but it was lots from 6 auctions. Ball jars, solar panels, stuff for the kids, everything comes through the auctions eventually. I am buying less though, just usually one or two items per auction now. I guess I’ve got most of what I need, and I have better self control regarding buying stuff just ‘cuz it’s cheap. Or not.

Today I’ve got a pickup to do, some grocery shopping to do, kid stuff, and all the other normal domestic bliss. Like laundry. I cut my hair yesterday so that’s done. Good value for money spent on that clipper set, and it saves me time too.

Staying home this weekend, to do some work around here. I really am hoping for some cooler weather, as that’s what I need to be productive. Can’t really count on it though, so plans might change.

I’m hoping everyone in the path of Helene is safe and well prepped. If you have any stories to share, please do so. If something worked or didn’t work, let us know.

And if you aren’t prepped, why not?

Stack something useful.

nick

(food and water are always useful)

Hot and humid after the slow start. Maybe some rain? Had patchy clouds most of Wednesday, and even indications that some people here got rain. I didn’t see any though. We should get something from the hurricane passing through the Gulf.

Did my pickups yesterday. Rolled two into the big loop. Made it back in time to get the kid from school. Then mostly got ready for dinner out… not a super productive day but one of the items won is an equatorial mount for a mid sized telescope. I’m hoping it’s all in the box. I’m hoping the drives are there. We’ll see.

Today I’ve got one pickup, but many lots, including the solar panels. Then I should do some stuff around the house before D1 needs me to drive her around. What gets done will depend on my mood and the weather. Like always.

It’s not very “professional” to just poke at preps, and fall farther behind in my normal domestic stuff, but I am not feeling it much these last few months. I believe time is short, but I can’t convince my body and mind of that. I hope I don’t regret the missed opportunities.

Stack while you can. Think about water the rest of this week. Getting it, storing it, treating it, using it.

I’m sure one of those could use some additional stacking or work…

nick

Cool to start but then warming to hot later. Fall in Houston. We are solidly in Fall, with the 75-76F mornings. It’s still early though, which is why we get the 90F afternoons. Which describes yesterday, despite overcast skies.

I did a few things yesterday, but got off to a slow start. I sat down after breakfast and fell asleep. I slept in my chair at my desk for almost 3 hours. That is crazy. Normally that would only happen if I’d had a bunch of carbs or sugar for breakfast. The dog sat on my lap that whole time too. He never does that. If he wants up, he wants back down in just a few minutes. I must have really been tired after the weekend.

If I had a headache, I’d have checked the CO2 monitors… or a butt ache, I’d have peed in a cup looking for rufies… that’s how strange it was.

I felt good when I woke up though.

So I went to my client’s house, did the changeover to xfinity fiber, did some other network maintenance (updating firmware on network devices), and came home to run the kids around and cook dinner. I even got my remote connection sorted out, with DDNS and the VPN set up and working. Felt almost like a real IT pro…

Dinner was a ribeye roast, bone on, frozen in Dec. 2013. Delicious. Tender and full of flavor. Vac seal with all the air removed, and keep frozen at 0F or thereabouts, and you can store food a lot longer than “people” say. This isn’t necessarily true for frost free freezers as they have a warming cycle to melt the frost, so you are cycling the temps and periodically warming the frozen food. But a chest freezer or old school upright will keep your food healthful and delicious for a decade or more.

I’m not recommending you plan to have food frozen for a decade, btw. You should be doing a better job of rotating food in and out. BUT. If you have the space, meat in the freezer is like money in the bank, especially when you buy on sale.

After dinner I re-baited the live traps in the attic, but didn’t see my possum invader last night. I’ll get him if he comes back. Meanwhile, I need to block his ingress route, which I’ll do if it’s a bit cooler. I need to clean up his mess too. I dislike working in attics when it is hot out though so I’m putting that off as long as I can.

Today is auction pickups, and running around, and all the typical stuff on the list that got pushed back by my client’s needs, and possum adventures. And a sudden and unusual need for some more sleep.

Stack something, fix something, learn something, or meet someone. And try to keep up. Catching up is twice as hard.

nick

(and so is being a badass. I realized that in the same way that happy people don’t make art, badasses are made by hardship and pain. I don’t want the backstory that comes with the badass present.)

Might be a bit cooler if the rain and overcast come. Still probably gonna be humid though. It was hot and enervating yesterday. Low to mid 90s in the afternoon.

Yesterday I didnt really get much of my list done. I was really tired. Sunday working outdoors in the sun must have taken more out of me than I thought. My hands are swollen, stiff, and sore. And my sides, wrapping part way around my back are sore too. Dunno what I did to make that part of me sore.

Did some stuff, but not much, then spent the late afternoon messing with possum and kids.

Today I’m headed to my client’s house to swap him fully to the xfinity fiber. Turns out his locked in contract with ATT has expired, so we can just change over. Competition is going to save him thousands of dollars a year and provide better speeds. I’m interested to see if the follow up crew has buried the fiber…I’m betting no.

WRT preps I won another 4 100W solar panels. Time to get serious about putting a system together, at least as a test bed.

Time to learn something new. Which is a good thing. But I have to fit it into all the other stuff too.

Learning, growing, practicing, and stacking… some full days ahead.
nick

Another hot and humid day. Although, I believe it is now officially Fall. It was hot at the BOL yesterday. Not so bad in the shade and breeze, but broiling under the sun.

So I worked outdoor in the sun. I stepped into the air conditioned dock house and into the shaded parts of the dock whenever I could. Still managed to get behind on fluids. It’s easy to get focused on a task and forget to drink. When I was doing the earthmoving work I made it a point to drink every time I got into or out of a machine. That’s harder to do when you are just hanging conduit. I did get the conduit for the outdoor speakers done. Didn’t pull the wire yet. Simply ran out of time, and energy.

Today I’ll be doing normal stuff here at home. There is plenty to do, so every day I can do it, is really a blessing. I just wish the temps were a bit lower. That makes everything easier. And so much of what I need to do is either outdoors, in the attic, or in the garage. Currently those places are boiling during the day.

I really need to get a big push of stuff done, so I can get back to trying to catch up…

Spend some time doing stuff you let slide, and stack…

n

Still hot in Houston, and muggy too. It started mid 70s, got to mid 90s on my driveway, and ended with mid 80s even until 10pm… and humid the whole time. I’m hoping the BOL is a couple of degrees cooler.

Today should be busy. I’ve got to get some stuff at Lowes for the projects at the BOL, but IDK which project I should buy for… maybe both. I’ve already got a truck full of stuff to go up, including more insulated chimney sections for the woodstoves. I never thought someone would USE and then return chimney pipe. That is what they did though. 4 of the five sections have soot in them. People suck.

I also picked up two steel cabinets to use as pantry. With critters, dust, moisture, etc. I’ve decided to try cabinets and not open shelves. Even with the lidded plastic bins, (which I’ll keep using in the cabinets), food isn’t as accessible or protected as I’d like. Looks bad too. It was ok during the wuflu lockdowns, but it’s looking bad now. Anyway, I’ve got to get them out of the truck so I can load it for the BOL.

And I need to do some grocery shopping for a nice meal for my wife’s birthday celebration. I pulled last night’s steaks out of the deep freeze, and they had 2021 dates. They were marked prime sirloin, which is what I’m still buying when it’s on sale, but they were SO MUCH better than the current meat. The grain and texture, the amount of connective tissue, it just didn’t compare. So not only is meat more expensive, standards have slipped too. I’d like to get her a couple of nice tenderloin filets since we don’t eat them very often. We’ll see what Costco has.

If they have some nice meat, I’m sure it will be pricey.

Lot’s of running around to do today. And then load the truck and head out…

I will bring some more TP and paper towels with me to stack at the BOL… there is likely to be something you need to stack too. Figure it out and act.

nick