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Category: personal

Fri. Sept. 18, 2026 – Friday again. Before you know it it’ll be Halloween

Still hot, although less so yesterday because the sun hid most of the day. Parts of Houston even got rain. Some of it got a lot of rain. I drove through some on the east side, but nothing at home. Maybe today?

Slept most of the morning despite my alarm going off more than once. Got up late and did auction stuff, then pickups. Well, one pickup. And I got a couple of things out of storage, including a new 8″ chef’s pan. I like the NSF rated simple non-stick pans that Costco used to carry. They end up in auctions surprisingly often, so I stock up. Or stack up… Since they should only be used for a while, and replaced when overheated or when the coating gets damaged, I consider them disposable items. I do take the pan to the scrapyard to be recycled. I like my heavy stainless and my cast iron, but some things are just easier to cook in non-stick.

Today I’ve got pickups, and I’d really like to be inspired and find a nice gift for my wife. It’s not a milestone birthday, but it’s always nice to celebrate things.

I’ve also got to load some stuff for the lake and get ready to head up. I’ve got frozen and cold food to take with me and I’ve got my normal pile of stuff that accumulates between trips. There’s always something that needs to go up.

So stack it high at home, and then duplicate that at your BOL. You’ll have twice the fun.

nick

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Sun. Sept. 13, 2026 – I’m sleeping in. I get nothing done when tired

Hot. Still hot. And humid, and we didn’t get any rain. Maybe today? It was sunny like a laser set on broil yesterday and still 82F at 2am. 82F is better than 92F but still hot.

Did my meeting in the morning, a pickup, some chat, a long nap, and some reading. Not a productive day.

Today I’d like to be more productive (as in working on the list) but honestly, laying around reading is probably going to happen.

We’ll see.

Might not even get any stacking in…

you should though.

nick

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Fri. Sept. 4, 2026 – already Friday, and getting started on Septiembre…

Still hot and wet. Only 80F when I went to bed, but the day was pretty warm. If it hadn’t rained buckets, it would have been even hotter. My personal weather stations said 0.62″ of rain, but it sure felt like more. Even the BOL got some rain. Today should be more of the same.

Did my dentist appointment. Got a cleaning and fluoride treatment. Kid had two small soft spots we’ll be addressing in a couple of weeks. Then I came home, ate, and crashed out for a while. I’ll have to do the pickups today instead. Fortunately, all my pickups today are near each other.

Then I really should go by the shop and get another load ready for auction. If I head to the BOL for the long weekend, I’ll need stuff to be ready and waiting as the auctioneer only takes new stuff in on Tuesdays. I’ve got stuff, just not in bins ready to deliver.

And I will need to get stuff together for the BOL too. There is always stuff to take up there to facilitate whatever work I’m doing. And to upgrade the BOL.

Always be working. Or at least able to arm wave whatever you’re doing to had SOME relationship to working… and sssttttaaaacccckkkk…..

nick

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Fri. July 31, 2026 – think I’ll do some stuff today

But it will be hot, so I probably won’t do them outdoors. Hot AND humid. It’s summer, in the swamp, so it really shouldn’t surprise anyone. It was well over 100F yesterday and will be today too. Still been cooler this summer than a couple years ago. Doesn’t mean I love the heat or don’t reserve the right to b!tch about it.

Cut my hair and did my other personal grooming then spent the morning doing auction stuff. Almost bought a sea container the day before. Should have. The seller, an ISD, set so many requirements to bid that no one was bidding. I got scared about moving it and basically only threw out an opening bid, so the winner got a 20 ft conex for $130. They usually go for $1200. Several 40ft containers also sold for no money. I can’t know what the other bidder would have bid if I’d stayed in, but it does suck to see one go for that little. And naturally as soon as I lost I figured out where to put it and what it would cost to get it there.

Picked up the kid at 3pm and then switched trucks and did my work at the rent house. Swapped out the attic fan in the 140 degree attic. If it cools it at all that will help cool the house. Clearly traditional construction venting does not do what they think it will if the roof was 150F on the underside. The house has soffit vents and whirlygig* roof vents so it should vent. Doesn’t.

Today I’ll do a couple of pickups, one for me, one for stuff to sell in August, and one for the next Hamfest. I might do some shopping for the BOL window project too. Not sure if I’ll be at home or head up to work at the BOL this weekend. Since I’m not doing all the things people thought I didn’t do anyway, I might as well head up and do something for me. It’s a bit grey since they benefit too, but I didn’t put padlocks on the freezers to keep them from benefiting from my previous efforts to keep the family fed.

The sad thing is I don’t have to padlock what I know they won’t even consider using. They’ll just shop. It really is an XX thing I think. W bought 10 pounds of chicken legs a couple of days ago for some reason, so we had under cooked but burned grilled chicken for dinner… D2 was effusive in her praise and thanked W for making dinner. Twist the knife kid. D1 might be starting to realize something is wrong.

All I can really do is what I do most of the time, just a whole lot less of it. And stacking. I’m still doing that.

nick

*technically a turbine vent

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Mon. July 20, 2026 – busy. Of course.

And hot as the devil’s sweaty taint. Again. Humid too.

Did as little as possible yesterday. Family came home. Did little after that. Lots of auction catching up to do.

Today, W takes D2 to school, then comes home and gets the HVAC guys going, while I head to the Dr, then come home to finish with the HVAC while W heads to work. Dunno what D1 has planned. Then things should stabilize for the rest of the day, until D2 needs her taxi.

I am tired of sweating in my own house. No one would live here by choice without A/C. It was over 103F in the shade at my house… and the humidity is 70% by my gauge. Despite the portable units, it was 89F in my office last night.

Sweating while sitting still is not fun or productive.

So my stacked units helped, but they aren’t the cure. Having the do re mi to pay the pros is priceless.

nick

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Sun. July 19, 2026 – still sweaty

Hot in Houston and very humid even by our standards. It was definitely cooler all week at the BOL. I’m hoping for overcast and a breeze to help cool down the house.

Got up early and came home from the BOL. The temporary fix for the A/C didn’t happen as we discovered the real issue (which was a good thing as it saved a lot of work in the attic.) The compressor wore out, the scroll touched the sides and that caused a big arc that blew a hole in the casing. Common failure, apparently, but not as common as the coil leaking. Warranty will still cover it. Make sure your new A/C system gets properly registered with the manufacturer. In my case it means 10 years of coverage instead of 5.

So I’m running a bunch of roll around units, just like during a hurricane when I don’t have enough power to run the central A/C. I have them because I’m a prepper… although the A/C guy was willing to send a crew with several units to loan until Monday. I don’t know how common that is or how many units he has, but having my own is good for my peace of mind. If the house hadn’t soaked up heat for a week, I would be nice an cool.

So prepper win.

Stack what you need, and then some stuff you might need. You may never use it, but if you need it you’ll be glad you did.

nick

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Sun. July 12, 2026 – great big basket of joy

Hot and humid, although maybe a bit less than Houston. It was only 80F last night up here. I’m hoping for overcast as I’m working on a white metal roof…

Did my stuff yesterday. Meeting had some stress and strain. Everyone that said something liked the new venue. Then I went home to deal with the dead A/C. W arranged an uber to get to the airport so I could stay and wait for the repair guy. He showed up and identified the problem and we came up with a treatment plan and schedule. It was going to be three days so I decided NOT to cancel my BOL work week.

Headed up, got here, had the mower die. I’ll have to deal with that if I want to move the bricks I’m demo’ing unless I want to use the wheelbarrow, and I don’t.

Plan for the day is get set up for the demolition. See what the sun does. Do demo or work on mower or other projects if the sun is overhead. Flexibility, not indecision…

And stacking.

nick
(I’m working! / end Ralph Wiggins voice

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Sun. July 5, 2026 – still got stuff to do

Hot and humid again. It will probably top 100F today with humidity about the same, although yesterday my weather station said it was only 49%RH. It was cool with a breeze in the shade, if you were soaking wet with sweat, and the portacool felt cool… Still, hot and humid, and in the sun it’s broiling.

Spent the morning doing small stuff. After I finished the LED tape lighting for the deck, I did some tree trimming and pruning. Did some other minor stuff too, and eventually spent an hour floating in the lake with a drink in hand. The lake is very warm, but does have cooler currents moving through it. Relaxing felt good.

Then it was a monster fireworks show, and time reading under the stars.

A good day all in all.

Today I’ll be taking the decorations down and doing “leaving the BOL” stuff. I’ll be back before too long when W takes the kids to spend time with her parents. I’ll have a big project to do the week they’re gone. Not sure yet which it will be, but I’m sure it will be a lot of work.

Always be working, amiright? I think so. and stacking.

nick

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Mon. June 22, 2026 – lots to do today

And we start cool, but end up hot. National map has us clearing today and tomorrow, so sunny and all the moisture in the environment will make it humid. Well, even more humid than usual. It was 85F and stifling when I went out last night but a cool breeze snuck in and dropped the temp to the 70sF by midnight. That should be our starting point today.

Did mostly small things around the house yesterday. It’s supposed to be a sort of holiday for dads, so I thought I wouldn’t work too hard. I hung pictures that had been sitting on the floor for at least 6 weeks, and some that had been sitting in my bedroom for a year? maybe more. Picked up and put away stuff, cleaned some pipe stuff and got it ready for sale, moved some stuff in my office… and watched a few auctions play out.

I did win the ebay auction for my replacement suitcase. It should be here in a few days. It feels … weird to be replacing the old one. It was my anchor, and continuity in my life for decades of work travel. Decades of different hotel rooms but the same suitcase and arrangement of clothes and the stuff I needed to be comfortable. Weird to be getting rid of it. Of course the new one is the same as the old, just not beat to h3ll. I guess I’ll learn if that makes it weirder or helps.

I’m most comfortable when surrounded by familiar stuff.

Today I’ve got several auction pickups, and a bunch of office stuff to do. And all the rest of the list, with additional car stuff for D1 scheduled for Tuesday. The list just gets longer.

But I plug away at it. I can grind, even if it’s not as effective as it was. And I can still stack, although the stuff that needs stacking is a lot less than when I started. And that’s a good thing.

nick

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