Category: march to war

Mon. Sept. 22, 2025 – yes, we have no bananas

Cool-ish, warming to hot. Because Houston. It got to 96F yesterday, and started warmer than the past several days. Then it rained and that cooled everything off a bit. Still was saturated though.

I got up far too early, dunno why, cooked my wife breakfast. Apparently there is this thing called “birthday week” where the birthday girl gets special treatment for the week, not just on the day. Who knew? I made an omelette. Saturday was a frittata. Of course there was bacon too.

Then I moved some stuff around and did some small jobs before deciding to finish the pressure washing and install my new 20ft flagpole. The rain came just as I was finishing that up. I poked at a few more small things after that. Dinner was a take and make meal from Costco. Those sou vide meals are cheaper than Burger King and a whole lot better, and they are very convenient. I usually freeze them until needed.

Today I’ll be working the list. I’ve got more stuff to move out of the house as part of the wife’s push to move stuff around. And I’ve got to do some ebay listing. Time to generate some cash, or at least start the process. I’ve got some outstanding invoices and other monies due me that I need to get on top of too.

And I’d like to take a load to auction. The scrap yard needs a visit too.

I’ve got prepping to do, mainly generator stuff, and I need to make some room to do it, and make some time. All while whittling away at the list.

Always be working. Always be stacking.

nick

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Sun. Sept. 21, 2025 – more stuff to do.

Cool, then warm, then hot. And even into the night, still pretty warm. It was in the 80sF at 11pm yesterday. I didn’t even want to sit out with a tiny little fire and a book.

I did spend Saturday doing the stuff my wife wanted me to do. I made two trips to the shop to move stuff out of the house. It was pretty hot in the shop, and I didn’t have the time or motivation to move much around there. The A/C did start up, and all the ice was melted off of it, but something isn’t right with it.

The compressor runs, even if the control panel is set to ‘off’, and none of the controls actually work, except on/off/and temperature. Good thing I have A/C units to spare. And good thing it’s getting cooler.

I did make a nice dinner for W1 and the kids. It wasn’t cheap, but it was cheaper than going out.

Today she’ll be working D2, and I’ll just continue on the stuff I have on the list. With additions, because OF COURSE stuff got added. D1 has some plastic hanging off the bottom of the car that needs to be zip tied up or removed so it doesn’t drag and catch. And I’m sure there will be some other new thing that needs urgent attention…

But that’s all just normal. Do what you can with what you have, and the time you’ve got. And stack.

nick

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Fri. Sept. 19, 2025 – “… people say we monkee around…”

Cool then hot. When you’re hot you’re hot, so cool you’re hot… I feel like singing today. No idea why. Anyway, yesterday was as expected and today will probably be too. Unless the forecast squeezes just a little rain out on us.

I did get a bunch of things done yesterday, but they were all little, and at home. I put off pickups until I had my pickup back, and just stayed home and chipped away at stuff.

I broke down the brisket, and cooked some. 3 pounds in the crock pot with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and four onions sliced thin. 6 hours later, it was filling the house with good smells. Unfortunately, the beef fat I was rendering on the stove didn’t smell so nice. I did get 2 cups of tallow at the end of the day, and I’d have just thrown that fat out. There was almost a cup in the crock pot too, but I didn’t render that.

As a side I made a recipe for dinner rolls from a magazine put out by our local electrical co-op at the BOL. Every month they feature other co-op members’ recipes. They were quick and easy, even from scratch. Unfortunately, the gamma seal lid on my bucket of flour failed, and the bucket went wet and rotten. I had a backup, so I opened that and made the rolls. That’s the second bucket of flour to turn into stinky glue.

My storage conditions sux teh bunnies, so I’m glad I don’t have even more breakage, but gamma lids are supposed to be good. They aren’t fool proof, and I’m the fool to prove it. Use a real lid for long term, and gammas only for the bucket you are working out of.

Moisture is my biggest problem with long term storage of anything, followed by sunlight. I’m the opposite of a cool dark place, and it shows.

Still, nice to know I can make light fluffy rolls with simple ingredients and only a little time. I think we’re most likely to be eating flat bread during any prolonged event, just because you don’t have the time for rising dough, or the energy for long baking. Just look at what poor people around the world eat, and it’s mostly flat bread.

I may try them with bacon fat instead of ‘solid vegetable shortening’ next time, just because I’ve got more bacon fat, but I try to make a new recipe as closely as possible the first time.

Late in the day I got my truck back. I’m $1500 lighter, but the A/C works again, and the oil got changed. There is a list of things that need attention, but most of it isn’t critical or in the budget for this year. In a couple more years it will be an antique and then maybe I’ll do a half arsed ‘restoration’ for D2. I can’t replace it for $100/ month, and that’s about what I’ve been spending on it. Plus, it’s a simple and reliable design, without all the tracking, ads, and “driver assistance” that I don’t want.

Today I’ll be doing those delayed pickups. And more stuff around the house. I have two specific missions for W as birthday requests, so I need to get them done.

Of course there are all the usual things on the list too, and stacking. Busy busy me…

nick

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Thur. Sept. 18, 2025 – yep, it costs more and takes longer, every time.

Weather is the same today as yesterday. And the day before. And before. And next. Cool to start, hot at the end, humid all along.

So, did I get anything done yesterday? Why no, not really. I did one pickup. Went by my shop. Authorized my mechanic to fix my Ranger, mostly. Did some other stuff, but nothing on the list. Kid 2 came home from school not feeling well. I did make dinner, and it was good.

Today though, today I’m doing stuff. Or maybe not. I don’t have my pickup truck so there are things I’d like to do that will be harder, or that I really can’t do, like moving out of another storage unit, or taking some shelves from one place to my shop. Even going to the Lowes and picking up 10 gallons of kerosene is harder without the Ranger. Wahhh wahhhh wahhh. I’ll figure something out.

It’s just not what I want to do, or thought I’d be doing.

But that’s life. Just gotta keep plugging away.

Gotta keep working and learning and stacking.

nick

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Wed. Sept. 17, 2025 – this time for sure…

Cool again, but then warm again, and then HOT again. We almost got some rain around 6pm, which cooled things down as the front moved by, but it was 92F before that. And pretty humid too. Time for Fall to get here.

I did some things in the morning, doing some small things in my bedroom and closet that I’d been thinking about for a while. Just rearranging stuff really. There’s more to do, but I broke the logjam by finally starting. I hope. Then I fell down a rabbit hole with some network stuff.

I did get one ubiquiti access point configured. I have another that shouldn’t take but a minute, and then I’ve got to install them in the attic. The one that took some skull sweat wasn’t resetting, or configurable, or upgrading properly, so when that got resolved (by using a different ubiquiti tool) I was pretty happy. It’s a $400 access point I picked up at the goodwill bins for about $3. Yeah, getting that to work for me kinda rocked. The other came from my client’s house during one of the upgrade rounds, and it configured no problem.

What I can’t do yet is get them off my normal network, and I can’t get them to use an alternative DNS server. ATT doesn’t allow you to configure their router to use anyone but them, as they mine that and sell it. I’ve got several devices I want to stop seeing ads on, but can’t configure manually, so I need the wifi or the main router to assign an alternate DNS, whether that’s a pihole or 9.9.9.9 or some other ad blocking service.

I have been looking at used ubiquiti gateways and they’re pretty cheap on ebay, so I may just do that. Then I’ll have control over it at a whole ‘nother level. The added advantage is that I’ve already spent time and energy learning to use the ubiquiti stuff at my client’s house, so I can save some effort. The other choice is to change the way the APs are configured, and set them up as a portal (like in a coffee shop or business lobby) and connect the devices to them. There are additional issues there though, and I’d have to learn more about that functionality.

I’m bummed because I thought I’d just be able to config the APs to give out a different DNS server… and I just had another idea about how to do that which I’ll have to explore today… See, talking through a problem can help. The normal setup and use just passes the routers DHCP and DNS to wifi clients too.

In the afternoon I did my pickups, got stuff at the grocery store, and dropped the Ranger off at the mechanic shop. Then I walked home. D1 picked up D2 and took her to her Tues/Thur activity. Sometimes having minions helps.

Today I’ll do a bit more cleanup in the bedroom and closet, a bit more networking, and maybe a bit of other stuff. I do have a pickup locally, and I can take some stuff over to the shop using the Expy when I do that pickup. Even if it’s raining, the Expy will keep the stuff dry. Tiny little steps, but all stuff that needs to be done.

I’ve got a brisket to portion and freeze, so that will be adding to the stacks. It’ll also probably end up being dinner too.

Stack while you can. If assassinations aren’t enough to kick off the next stage, something else will.

nick

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Tues. Sept. 16, 2025 – uh oh, someone’s birthday is coming fast

Hot later but cool enough at the start of the day. Yesterday did fit the pattern. It was a little cooler because of the overcast, but still unpleasantly hotter than the morning.

Some stuff got done. Some stuff didn’t. I did my pickups, even the far one, although I was 2 minutes late. They’d locked the door, but I called ahead and they left my stuff outside for me.

It was a lot of driving around and it took most of the afternoon. It’s very clear where my time has been going.

I did find time to change out the fuse in my dead battery charger. And true to form, it instantly blew. When gear has a blown fuse, there is usually a reason. I’ve got too much to do, so I salvaged the case and cables, but put the board in the recycle pile. I’m thinking about mounting a mobile radio in the case. Project for future me.

Today, I’ve got a few more pickups, and some grocery shopping to do. Kid2 needs stuff for band (and the Band Supporters ‘band’ together to provide it. I’m a band dad.) Normal day for me. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do something else on the list. Probably not though.

Time to set aside some time to really hit the list. Like the week at the BOL, I need to dedicate time. Kinda hard with the other stuff going on though. We’ll see what I can figure out.

Out there in the world, I’m assuming the tit for tat is starting. If you haven’t been completely grey for the last 5 years, assume someone knows your politics and doesn’t like them. Keep your eyes open and your weapons close.

AND stack. Because crazy knows no bounds and things are gonna get crazy.

nick

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Mon. Sept. 15, 2025 – here we go again.

Still more of the same. It got perilously close to raining late yesterday, so we might get some today, but otherwise, cool to start, warming to hot. Humidity seemed higher yesterday too.

So of course I worked outside in the afternoon. Sometimes I think my momma did raise at least one fool… But, I did get some stuff done. The walkway to the front door of the house has been a tripping hazard for a while, and really needed repair. I’d bought the mortar some time ago, and the bags were sitting on the porch waiting.

I finally got the kid to pressure wash the flagstones and the mortar joints, and I did some filling last month. I did a bunch more yesterday. There is still some to do, but I have to see if the remaining bag is mortar or cement or concrete. I used up the open bag and called it quits for now.

There are many things on the list, and fixing some of the holes in the walk has been far down the list for a year or more, but things have come together to move it to the “just get it done and move on to the next thing” part of the list. The bucket was there, the mortar was there, the walkway was there. And now it’s about 90% repaired.

Today I’ve got pickups to do. I’ve been bidding on less, and not really trying to win most things- just putting in a “you stole it” bid, since prices are low at the moment. I still managed to win some stuff that falls in the ‘preps’ category, as well as some day to day household stuff. I’m working on spending less time driving around to do pickups, as I finally realized that was where all my time was going. I know, sometimes I am not really ready to face the obvious truth.

Never the less, I will have some pickups this week, and some today. Unfortunately, today’s is one of the farthest away, and not really combine-able with any other pickups. I’ve been trying to not bid much with that auction house, but sometimes the deal is too good to pass up, and they often have really low prices. It’s easier to not bid in auctions that always seem to sell stuff for too much money. Not so easy when they almost give stuff away.

I’m still stacking stuff, although most of it isn’t food anymore. And most of it is tweaks and refinements of what I’ve already got stacked. For example, I’m bidding on the 220v combiner kit for my two honda es3000i generators. That would be a nice addition, especially if it was cheap. I don’t need it, but it would expand my capabilities. There are a lot of things like that. Especially things related to infrastructure.

Power generation, storage, and conversion. Drinking water preparation and storage. Waste handling. Comms. Infrastructure. And for here, not just at the BOL. Medical stuff is high on my list for stacking too. In the last few weeks a bunch of syringes, needles, bandages, and useful books have been added to the stacks. It’s a deep prep, and definitely in the ‘I never want to have to use this stuff’ pile. But it’s cheap now, precious in the right situation, and impossible to improvise. Exactly the stuff to stack after your basic needs are met.

So keep an eye open for stuff that you might need, and can’t readily get. Stack it when you can.

nick

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Aug. 1, 2025 – jeez, the year is flying by

Another hot humid day to come, like the ones just past. Joy. Over 100F in the afternoon. And even though it said 50% RH, it certainly felt like more. I am hoping for a little relief from the humidity, but IDK what to expect any more than the forecasters do.

Did not get everything I wanted to do done yesterday. Did the major things, and a couple of small but lingering things. I’ve got the same sort of day planned today.

I have to hit a couple of stores for the stuff I’m taking with me to the BOL. I need to go by a bank and mail some stuff. I’ve got a guy who wants to meet to buy one of the things I’m selling for my buddy. And I would like to load up and head out mid afternoon. The chances of that happening that way? Meh, could happen.

Gonna be working on improvements hard for a week. Not so hard on stacking. Although, I hope to have the time to make some improvements to the community park and boat launch, which should stack some goodwill and help with my assimilation into the community.

Work with what you’ve got, stack what you need.

nick

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Sat. July 19, 2025 – Saturday, in the park, I think it was the … 19th… of July

And it’s hot again. Overcast most of yesterday,but still hot, and humid to match. Probably got more of that coming today. Now it’s really summer.

So I did some things. Drove around, met with people, put stuff in my truck. Took it out in various places. Moved some stuff around in the house. Put a thing back together for sale on ebay. Went out for dinner. We get a 25% discount because D2 isn’t here… which is one way of looking at it, I guess.

Because of reasons, detailed yesterday, I don’t have a new phone yet. My old phone battery is so swollen it pushed the back off my phone… it’s about twice as thick as it should be. Since I don’t want any fires in my pants, I think I’ll find an old phone to swap my sim to today. It’s seriously scary how swollen it is and I didn’t realize because I just thought something was wrong with the case. Yikes.

I did change my phone plan to a “senior” 55 plus plan. It’s $40/month instead of $72, and has unlimited talk, text, and data- although they can throttle me if the network is congested. I typically use 2-3 GB of my current 4GB plan per month, so unlimited won’t help much. I can add one of the kids on a second line, both will drop to $35, and the kid will appreciate the unlimited data. I wouldn’t have known about the plan if T Mobile didn’t send me a flyer for their 55+ plan, which prompted me to call ATT. ATT will just let you keep paying higher rates even if they have newer, cheaper plans. There are a couple of small differences, Autopay has to draft from a bank account instead of credit card, and I can’t get paper bills anymore. Despite the payment and billing changes, saving ~$360 a year seems worth it.

FWIW, if we change the ATT fiber bill to my name we’ll save another $18/mo because of the bundle. We’re currently on the cheapest and least capable plan, 1 gig a month for $89. Speedof.me says we’re getting 750/500 at my desk. The router test says 920/900. If there’s no reason not to change the names, I’ll get the fiber in my name and bring the savings to ~$500 a year. That’s worth doing.

Today I might have a pickup if I won anything from an estate auction. I’ll know if an invoice shows up in my email. There wasn’t anything when I went to bed. That’s good, because I’ve decided I’m spending too much time driving around picking stuff up. That’s where all my time is going and it contributes to me not getting stuff done. I can change that. I think. Dunno if I’m strong enough to resist the pull of a bargain. I’ll try to start limiting which days I do pickups.

It’s tempting to buy all the things, since I stack all the things, but ultimately I need time to assimilate some of the things, and to actually stack the things.

All while working to improve my situation… get to work!

nick

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Fri. July 18, 2025 – the things you see when you don’t have your shotgun…

Hot. Hooo boy hot. Yesterday was sunny and hot all day. Indoor warehouse spaces were sweltering. There is a chance that some stuff will push into Houston from the Gulf today, but if it doesn’t, I’m betting on another hot day.

I got a couple of small things done yesterday. Mostly I did pickups and chatted with people. Auction prices were down this week and last, and most of the sellers are putting it down to buyers spending cash on the July 4th celebrations. I’m not so sure. It’s also possible that some buyers are out of town on vacation. It feels a bit bigger than that though. Gubs were underpriced and usually carry guns sell really well. Ammo was reasonable. I’m getting a lot of stuff without any real competition. Could be people really are finally running out of money.

I know things are not as rosy here at Casa De Nick as they were a year ago. Lot of fairly big expenses in the past year and more still to come too. Resources have been earmarked and allocated, but there is definitely a change. Silver coins at $32 an ounce, and Charmin Blue at $33, and a 20pc bucket of KFC all dark meat, no sides or biscuits was $32 before tax. I get three meals from the bucket, plus feed the family one, so it’s not that bad overall, but it’s still a bit shocking for a bucket of fried chicken. And inflation keeps raging.

Last trip to costco and to HEB I didn’t buy meat. I’ve got freezers full, and there wasn’t anything I wanted on sale… but that’s the result of planning most people didn’t do. It feels like we’re that little bit closer to hard times all of a sudden.

Which is why we prep. Stack when it’s cheap, eat when it’s dear.

nick

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