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Category: march to war

Wed. Feb. 3, 2021 – just not feeling it.

Cold to start, continuing the nice clear days.  Warming up later.

Yesterday was another beautiful day starting with an absolute light show of a sunrise.   I get to see the sun come up while I stand on the corner with daughter 1 waiting for her bus.   In the old days I’d have said that sunrise should come at the END of a good long day…

12 years and 24 days since I quit drinking.    Missed the anniversary, but realized it yesterday.  It’s not normally a big deal for me, I figure the running total out when I think of it- I’m not actually counting the days any more.  Without any judgement either way, I can say definitively that it saved me a LOT of money be spent on other things.  And probably saved my life and my relationships….

I made my drop off at the ‘industrial’ auction, so that’s another pickup load gone.  Still lots more to go.   Funny how the auctions and estate sales sometimes go in ‘waves’.    No O gauge trains for a long time, then trains in every auction.  Or loose wrenches and sockets.   Or coleman lanterns.   None for a while, then they’re everywhere.

Since yesterday was an ‘office’ day for my wife, I picked up youngest from school.  2:30 in the afternoon is not a convenient time.  For anyone.  And having the kids start at 7:15 makes little sense for most people.   What it does do is let the district reuse the busses to pick up the high school kids for their later start time.  One more example of the district running things for their own convenience and not the parents’ or students’.  And the mid afternoon ending time created a whole industry of “after care” babysitter organizations.  All of which cost money by the way, and almost none of which are running due to covid.  Anyway, it puts a limit on what I can do in the afternoon.

Today I’m picking up auction stuff for my ongoing home remodeling and maintenance projects.  Then I’ll see what else I can get done either on my list for home, or for my secondary location.  Gnu g-noes there is plenty on the lists…

Meanwhile, our would be rulers are continuing to show their true nature.  Some are now calling for the creation of a ‘ministry of truth’, while others want to purge the ranks of the military along political lines.  I can’t see the leadership allowing that, but I don’t see them staging a coup either.  It will probably just get slow rolled with everyone hoping someone else will deal with it.  Everywhere I look I see the breakdown of the institutions and cultures that led to our great success.   It’s much easier to destroy than build.

I’m focusing on Yoda’s advice for the nonce… “Save you what can.”

Stack it high.

 

nick

 

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Sat. Jan. 30, 2021 – so, still January. Jeez.

Cold and clear, until it rains.   And it will probably rain, just to mess with me.

Yesterday was cool and clear everywhere I went, but I could see the rain coming down HARD in the distance.   Some parts of the Houston area must have been hammered.

Ran my errands.   Have another load of industrial stuff scheduled to drop off on Monday or Tuesday.   Most of my stuff in the last auction did well.  Both auctioneers are happier with the stuff I’m bringing.   Me too for that matter.  Now I just need to get MORE of it to them each time.

If I can I’ll work in the garden today.  I’ve got cleanup and pick ups scheduled though.   Sunday is supposed to be clear so that’s my backup plan.

Got the dog’s ashes back yesterday.   There will need to be some time spent dealing with that, and the family, over the weekend too.  I’m still checking for him every time I walk through the room, or checking that his water dish is full when I walk past that area.  It’s amazing how much energy an 18 pound chihuahua mix can infuse into the house, and how empty it can feel when it’s gone.

Out in the world, the crazy continues to grow and spread.  The government wants to make literally half the country into outlaws and domestic terrorists.   (Funny how we have so many flavors of ‘terrorist’ these days.)  It’s a bit like the constant use of the ‘racist’ label, and I can’t help thinking of the saying, “as well to hang for a sheep as a lamb”.   Be careful what you wish for….

The casino that is the financial markets finally met a card counter they didn’t own, and they’re running scared.   It’s been a house of cards for a long time, and it might finally be crashing down.  This isn’t good by the way.

I saw a meme that kinda lifted a veil so to speak, exposing something I’d internalized that wasn’t true.   For a long time, I’ve been referring people to the election map of the last election BY COUNTY because it shows quite clearly that the majority of the country is red, with only the big cities in blue.  It looks very different from when the whole state is colored in.   The meme (I can’t find again) showed the same map, and said- There are no blue states, only corrupt blue cities in red states.   And just like that, I realized I’d been programmed.  My way of thinking about the issue was framed by someone else in a way that benefited them more than me.  Watch out for that.

We have some time yet before whatever breaks things for real happens.  I don’t know how long, but it’s not infinite.   Keep working to improve your position.   Keep stacking.

 

n

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Sat. Jan. 23, 2021 – busy day, making progress though

Cool and clear, I hope.   National map has us on the edge of a rainy area.  Usually the edge misses us.  I would like to get stuff done without getting rained on.

I spent some more time at my secondary  location doing clean up and throwing out stuff.   One of the things I un-buried was a shelving unit for my nearby storage unit.  I’ll be setting that up today if the rain holds off.  That will get some of my ebay stuff out of the house, without it being very far away.  Farther than I’d prefer, but keeping it here is not an option at this time.  Room needs to be made for GS cookies.

Yep, cookie season is almost here.  We thought it would be fully online this year, but I guess not.  Soon I’ll have hundreds of boxes of cookies in my foyer and living room.  Few of them for me, though.

My auction pickup yesterday was two ham radios.  Early 80s, solid units.   One was bringing crazy money on ebay.   I’ve got some work to do cleaning them up a bit and hopefully doing a little bit of testing.  Even as just a ‘parts’ machine, it should bring >$1100, which is nuts.  I am selling it, and not keeping it.   Need the money, have radios…   In fact, I’m toying with the idea of doing an auction in March of all the stuff I’d normally take to the hamfest.  I’ll talk to my local auctioneer and see what he thinks.

I’ve got a pickup in Conroe today, it’s stuff for building antennas.  I’m hoping to leverage some collapsible flagpoles into decent antennas.   They are always in that particular auction and go relatively cheaply.

There has been some discussion in various places regarding alternate comms and news sources.   Alex Jones led the way by having his show on shortwave for years.  Say what you will about him, a few of his darts have hit the board, and he was deplatformed before it was even a word.   He’s still around though.  I’m sure his shortwave show contributes to that.   In general, I thought the standard prepper recommendation to own a shortwave radio was not particularly useful.   The main broadcasters are religious based or state propaganda organs.  That said, many of the church people do news and talk too, and it’s possible to learn stuff from propaganda.   Given the crackdown on free speech in the US, I’m moving shortwave radio up the list a couple of notches.  Lots of good info about shortwave radios and listening on youtube.  (yes, evil youtube.  support the content creators that are making a living or living their dream on the platform.   Use patreon or whatever the creators like, and run adblockers to starve the beast.)

Compromise (or at least the appearance of ‘going along to get along’) is going to be the word-o-the day for a long time.  We need to maintain our ability to act, to support those that need support, and we need to get THROUGH this and out the other side, to wherever that may be.  There are times when that is not going to look very pretty.  I’m sure my tolerance for the necessary levels of compromise will vary and there may come a point where I can’t do it.  But given what that would cost  me, the current plan is pull back, pull in, and abide.    You may evaluate the situation and come to a different conclusion.   I may come to a different conclusion at some point too.  But I intend to survive this as intact as possible, and I’m PLANNING and provisioning to do that.

Stack it high.  Stack it in a bunch of small piles scattered all over.  Stack it wherever you can.  But STACK up some resources, friends, and knowledge.

nick

 

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Wed. Jan. 20, 2021 – an unhappy anniversary…

Three years ago today we lost the founder and driving force behind this site,  Robert Bruce Thompson.  It’s been my honor and privilege to keep the conversation going since then.  Thank you to Barbara for her support and to Rick for keeping the lights on.  And thanks to all of you who continue to visit and keep this place alive and growing.

Absent friends.

nick flandrey

 

 

Cool and wet.  Possibly.  Maybe.  Could be a bit like yesterday, which was pleasant enough, and even nice in the mid-afternoon.

I ran my errands and spent the rest of the afternoon sorting and going through stuff.     Today I need to do some neglected stuff around the house.  I’ve been jumping from one thing to another, and now I need to jump back.

Number one prep is keeping my wife happy and on my page.  I have been letting that slide and that is a bad thing.

No further news about the possible BOL/Lakehouse cabin.   They want to sell to us, we want to buy, but there is a question of flooding, easements, and Army Corps of Engineers interactions…. next step is a survey to locate the potential issues.  From where we sit, it looks like there would be significant limits on what we could do in the future with the land abutting the lake shore.  Those future possibilities were a large part of the appeal as an investment.

On the broader stage… I don’t know what will happen today.  I’m hoping for ‘nothing’.   I fear a massive false flag attack.  I think it’s bad enough Biden will be President for some period of time, but to start off with a tragedy would be even worse.   There is too much that is just too weird in DC for me to feel comfortable.

Hopefully, by now everyone is an old hand at staying safe from the current threats, and is working toward safety from the escalating new threats.  Time to think much longer term, 4-10 years.   You can’t stack that much so what do you do?  What you can.

I’m not taking bets on when the war really gets going.   I have already said that I expect to have a Republic of Texas passport within 10 years.  I also have said that I don’t think patsy Joe will last through March.  I don’t see any reason to change either  prediction, but they could easily advance by half.

I sincerely hope this is all hyperventilating and fearmongering.   Best case, no new laws or restrictions, stalemate in the Congress, buffoonery from the White House.   Worst case?  Not gonna even go there today.

I was heartened to hear from everyone who reported on their successes to date.  So, what are you seriously lacking? What do you need to keep stacking?*

nick

 

*moxie and pretzels to be sure….

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Tues. Jan. 19, 2021 – [insert lyric from a Doors song]

Cool and wet, possibly really wet.  Yesterday was the kind of moist windy day I normally associate with spring.  It had ‘that smell’, but it’s still only January.

January seems to be taking its own sweet time.  Funny how the perception of time can change.  December flew by but January is taking forever.  I’m trying really hard not to invest too much time or mental energy in what’s coming up with the Inauguration.  Hurricane is in the Gulf, just need to get my stuff in one bag… so to speak.  I’m certainly not going to change the events that happen.  On the other hand, I’m reading folks I have been reading for a long time, and they seem oddly detached.  It’s like they’re just in a spectator mode where they can’t look away, yet their own comments reveal that they think momentous changes will be coming.

Folks, you can’t just watch this from a distance if you believe it’s gonna get ugly.  This has the potential to impact you in ways the Clinton and Obamma administrations never did.  People are being un-personed.  They are being driven out of their jobs and their communities.  The new administration hasn’t even taken office yet and they’re already messing things up for ordinary folks.

Take some more steps to help shield yourself from the change that’s coming.

Make every effort to have cash and other resources available.  Food.  Comms.  Alternate income streams.  Water will probably be available, it’s not really a hurricane, but infrastructure interruptions and sabotage are being widely considered and discussed.

As civilizations degrade, lots of things that used to work well stop working very well, and sometimes stop entirely.  We’ve already started down that path.  We are eating out our substance in some real and metaphorical ways.   Public trust has eroded away.  Some people are still cruising on inertia but more and more will become aware of the changes as soon as they bump into them personally.  There’s a lot of stored fat on the body politic, but we’re starting to burn through that and it won’t take too long before we’re eating  up the muscle.

Shortages or outages for products are becoming commonplace.  Supply chain disruption continues.

Roads aren’t being cleared of debris.  Illegal dumping seems to be increasing.  Windows are being boarded up instead of having the glass replaced.   Graffiti and tags are staying in place longer.   Trash is everywhere.  Homeless are showing up in areas they don’t normally frequent, and I’m spotting more sleeping in places that NEVER saw any ‘urban outdoorsmen’ at all.

After years of declining numbers, violent crime is increasing again.

Businesses continue to fail.   I’m seeing vacant storefront and restaurant property everywhere, and Houston is somewhat insulated from the economic problems in the rest of the country.  It’s got to be worse elsewhere.

Preps will help cushion us through this.  Stuff, skills, relationships.  Those and determination and persistence will get us through.

Keep stacking.

nick

[I’m thinking “This is the End”, or “People are Strange”, I don’t want to contemplate how “Crystal Ship” might fit.]

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Mon. Jan. 18, 2020 – I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, so ‘scuse me if it goes astray..

Cold clear, and some sunny.

Yesterday it was the same in Houston, as in my (possible) new undisclosed location, well, maybe a couple of degrees cooler.  Felt nice there with Chamber of Commerce ™ weather.

I was literally asleep in my chair at my desk, writing this post in my head.  (I don’t know what Prince was doing when he wrote the lyric.)

It all made a ton of sense.  Then I woke up.  Somehow I feel like torturing the idea to fit this week.   Troops in DC.   Troops in state Capitols (does capitol get a capital?)  Someone with Mad Skilz ™ in graphic arts re-spinning a commie work of propaganda from just a few weeks ago to make the most obvious trap since giant talking fish came out of hyperspace over Endor….  when will it end?

Not with the Inauguration of the “‘scrapper’ from Scranton”, or whatever post industrial filth hole he occasionally flies over.

Not with the crowning of the first (kinda) black woman President.

Not even with her death in the ensuing revolt.

I don’t think you CAN pull back at this point.  I think the only way through is through.  And that is going to take a while.

We’re in for a long slog.  Stack accordingly.

 

nick

Kids are home because a adulterous philanderer got himself shot over something.  His cause, noble as it might have been was hijacked and diverted and subverted until we have the fun house mirror version of freedom his people enjoy today.  Think twice, and then a third time before attempting any discussion of the day in comments.  There’s no way that will end well when the thought police find what you wrote.  Especially if you’re honest, and quote statistics.

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Sun. Jan. 17, 2021 – working the plan

Cold and clear today, same as yesterday.

34F when I went to bed, supposed to be LOW of 36F according to the weather liars.

Did my stuff yesterday, got most of it done.  The big disappointment was the sump pump battery backup.  No battery.  Still, I’ve got batteries and the rest is ok.

Today the family is driving 3 hours north to look at some property on a lake.  I really like the looks of the property, wooded, two lots totaling 11 acres (one on the lake, one behind that lot) right up close to a national forest.  The house is really odd, and the lake has some restrictions that my wife doesn’t love.  The question is, bug out location or vacation lake house?  Which is primary?  We’ll see.  Events elsewhere may push my wife more toward BOL.

I don’t know what’s happening in DC but it’s got the whole country nervous as hell.  At least the half that pays attention.  LOTS of people are paying a whole lot more attention now.  Several people on my rounds today were watching carefully and there is a lot of head shaking once you engage with them.

And that’s just one reason why KNOWING where you can go if you have to go is essential.  Currently, I don’t plan to leave, and that’s mostly because I don’t have anywhere to go.  It’s also because no matter what happens, Texas is probably a good place to be.  I’m thinking Chicago, Baltimore, Philly, DC, all the usual suspects are NOT going to be good places to be.  If you live in a sh!thole city, you might want to consider a plan that is just “that Bayfront motel at the intersection of x and y” in a small town 3 hours away, with a storage unit and some minimal sustainment supplies.  That would be a huge step in the right direction.  It might not hurt to have that storage unit in a company name, prepaid for a while, either.

In fact, maybe working out a list of what I’d stash in the smallest available storage unit would be a good idea.  You can fit a lot in 4 or 8 black tubs.

Get to thinkin’.   Get to stackin’.

nick

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Fri. Jan. 15, 2021 – lots to say, brain running on empty

Cool and clear.  Sunny.  Should be nice.

My day today should involve pickups and drop offs that didn’t happen yesterday,  and some new ones.    I got some odd things and some good things this week.   In the odd but good overlap- packaged setup for a backup battery, charger/maintainer/ and sump pump…  I’ll just use the battery and maintainer.   Odd but useful, 50 pounds of Himalayan salt.   My wife prefers using it in the kitchen, and it was cheap.  Into a bucket you go!  I got a couple more battery chargers, and a nice big 13.8v power supply for my radios/ workbench, and another 12v tire inflater for the vehicles.   Since batteries and chargers are coming my way right now, I’ll keep stacking them.

I missed getting a load dropped off because I actually had an ebay sale that needed to pack and ship.   I took the opportunity to do some family pack and ship errands too.

I’ve got a lot of little things need doin’ today and this weekend too.  Putting together and stocking another two sections of FIFO can manager.  Putting stuff AWAY that’s been sitting out too long.  A grocery order would be prudent too.  No time for complete sentences!

My buddy tells me that most of the Home Depots should have their new garden seeds out and on the floor.   You might want to buy early this year.  Just sayin’.  Also any pesticides or treatments you need might end up in short supply, so you might want them too.  Rabbit wire/ hardware cloth was very hard to find locally this past year.  I’ve got a bunch now, but who would have thought that would run out?  Canning jars and lids are selling VERY well in the auctions, higher price than retail.  Hmm.  Maybe like ammo, people are laying in supplies wherever they find them?   Like guns and ammo if you shoot, if you can, you can never have enough jars…

I hope everyone is planning their garden, even if it is only salad greens in containers.  Get some practice.  And, some container gardening is good cover for much more extensive efforts in the back yard, where no one can see…

Short shrift today, because I’m really tired as I write this and my brain is slow.

Keep stacking.  You have holes in your preps.  Find them and fill them.

nick

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Thur. Jan. 14, 2021 – time keeps on slippin’, into the future…

Cool to cold, clear, really really hope for no rain.  We are supposed to continue clear for a couple of days.

Wednesday was light jacket and long pants, but nice and sunny and clear.  I hit a couple of errands, mainly checking in with my gun store buddy (he’s frazzled) and doing some pulling and organizing in one storage unit.   That was in preparation to taking another load to auction today, and maybe another to the other auction tomorrow.

I really want to sell as much as possible before the shooting starts.

And I don’t see any way around the shooting starting.   I could outline why but I think you all know what I’d say by now.  Anyone who sees a path that doesn’t rely on the right either being all mouth and no ass, or being VERY restrained (and what’s the chance of that with covid cabin fever raging) feel free to lay it out below.   The left is demonstrating daily that they can’t wait to fire up the midnight raids and start running camps.   Not right away of course, but it will get there.   Look what they’re doing to Trump and people who have political power and money.   When they’re talking casually about taking kids away from their parents so that they can be re-educated, and it’s not Ted Kazinski in a cabin in the woods but respected people in management of everyday institutions like PBS, I think that’s indicative of worldview and mindset.  It’s pretty much opposite of mine, and I’m not going to meet them halfway on that.  The masks are coming off and the ugliness is astonishing.

Once the shooting starts, I expect supply chains to literally blow up.  The great TP shortage of 2020 is going to look like shopping at Walmart by comparison.  I didn’t expect things to get started so quickly and I have revised my expectations accordingly.  While there will be  ebbs and flows in the pace of incidents, I expect some soon, and MUCH worse than I originally thought.  I’m not thinking about the Monkey Wrench Gang  so much as angry mobs tearing stuff up and burning stuff down. 100 John Lee Malvos, not one.  100 Timothy McVeighs not one.  As icing on the cake, normal crime is spiking and will continue and increase while the authorities are otherwise occupied.  You may never see an insurgent,but I bet you’ll see home invasions, robberies, rapes, assaults, car jackings, etc increase dramatically.

Maybe it won’t happen that way.  I don’t want it to.  Maybe it will be worse.  Maybe it will take longer.  I don’t see the emotions going away and it doesn’t take much to disrupt our world.  And CV-19 is still killing people.  How many of those 20K guardsmen will be infected, and bring it back to their communities when they de-mob?  Wonder if they’ll call it a super spreader event and blame Trump? Nah, couldn’t happen.

Keep stacking.  It isn’t gonna be ‘back to normal’ anytime soon, if ever.

nick

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Wed. Jan. 13, 2021 – Friday the 13th comes on a Wednesday this month

Cold,but warming up, clear and dry.

Yesterday stayed cool after a very cold start.  It was dry but so cool, stuff didn’t really dry out.   Today it’s coming down no matter what.  Time to get the yard decor in.

Spent most of yesterday afternoon driving around for pickups.  Got a couple of gub accessories, a major piece of our ongoing bathroom project, and gallons of hand sanitizer.  Some other cleaning and plumbing stuff too.

My dog is looking a bit better.   We’ve been jamming food into him whenever he’ll eat.  He was pretty perky when the chicken breast came out for his dinner tonight, but he is spending most of his time sleeping or just lying down.  His two repaired knee joints can’t be feeling great with the cold and damp, mine certainly don’t.  Pain killers seem to be in order, but my wife isn’t seeing outward signs of pain and she’s worried about drug interactions so today I hope she’ll get the reassurance she needs from the vet.

I wish there was someone I could call and get some assurance the country will even make it to the inauguration.  They are moving VERY fast to tie up their ‘win’ and shut down opposition before it can really get going.   They definitely don’t want Trump around as a rallying point or gadfly for the next four years.   They want him tied up, locked up, or buried.  The absolute perfect setup for a false flag attack is coming up and I’m very concerned.  They are already laying the groundwork.

The tech companies are lining up to serve their new masters.  Go Daddy should be treated like a landlord, along with all the other registrars and hosts.  It should be illegal for them to discriminate, if it’s not already.  AR15.com was just the first, they won’t be the last.   Go Daddy is my personal registrar and host, and I need some advice on someone solid to use instead.  I’ve got stuff renewing soon that I would like to move.  It sucks because I’ve been a fan of theirs since they started outside of Tempe AZ all those years ago, and a customer for over a decade.  I have several inactive domains, one work domain with email, one family domain with hosted WP site (that could go away if the domain stayed.)    The business domain and email are the most important things to me.  I would like to hang on to all the domains, but I’m getting tired of paying for privacy.  Most are .com, with a couple variations to protect my name and business name.  I just registered the flandrey domains as backup, and now I need to move them.  FFS.

I see a real lack of contingency planning around a Trump loss on the right.  Doesn’t inspire confidence.  The Republican party reaction doesn’t surprise me at all though.  Trump was never a party Republican.  They never wanted him and can’t wait to get rid of him.  He threatened a lot of rice bowls (hah, see what I did to amuse you, china! FTW!)  Just how many of our congressmen and business  leaders are married or shacked up with chinese women anyway?

If people do push back, and someone will, it’s going to get REALLY ugly real quick.  Too many 3 letters are already corrupted and working against conservatives (remember the IRS and charitable status?).   The rest will jump on the bandwagon if it gets going.  That won’t be fun.

Priorities should be having the basics to cover an extended period of disruptions.  In EVERY account I’ve read of war or prolonged conflict, the people end up eating grass because they’ve eaten everything else.  After food, water, meds, and defense, comms are going to be an issue.  Samizdat is going to be making a comeback, albeit in new forms.  Beyond that, I can’t really say.  Everything technological is subject to eavesdropping, well poisoning, and the equivalent of direction finding.   There are a lot of clever people out there and something will rise to the surface.   If you think I’m nuts, I’ve got literally a page of headlines from this week alone that suggest otherwise, so you’ll have to do more than make assertions.  I was listening to NPR on the radio while driving around and even THEY can see that a civil war is imminent.

I’m continuing with my life as normal, kids’ school, house remodel, ebay sales, because going dark is just as telling as going active.  I’ve always done my prepping alongside my normal life anyway.  And there is no point in shutting down-the internet archives, and the three lette r s have been hoovering up data the whole time.

We’re barely two weeks into 2021 and it’s already insane.  Avoid crowds.  Don’t get on the bus.   Stack it high and deep, and in more than one place.

nick

 

~800 words, right on schedule.

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