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Tues. Oct. 3, 2023 – slouching toward the future…

Slight coolness to the breeze in the morning, not quite as high temps in the afternoon, it must be Fall, finally. 90F+ is still plenty hot, and I don’t want to be in the attic yet, but I can tell the day is coming. I will end up doing all those things I’ve put off.

I spent the day Monday doing paperwork. Tax stuff. Billing. Bill paying. Nothing at all interesting, other than the observation that round trips to the BOL pretty much doubled the miles I drive in a year. My wife is doing about the same number of trips in her Honda too. So we’ve increased our mileage expense dramatically, especially when gas was at the peak.

The other observation is that I haven’t been keeping up my rate with my remaining client. I bumped it up for this invoice, and I’ll be bumping it again on the next one. I need to get at least a thirty percent increase just to stay even, and I’m not close yet. Raising rates is hard, even with good, long term clients. It might be harder actually, as you can more easily raise rates on strangers than someone you’ve been working with for a decade. He’ll understand, and he’s not pinching pennies, but he didn’t get to where he is by writing a bunch of checks. I think my position is pretty secure as I know more about what’s going on there than anyone, but I also don’t want him to put off calling when there is an issue. It’s tough, and it’s going to be tougher.

Today I’ve got to do the stuff I blew off yesterday, and I’ve got to finish before 4pm. I’ve got a doctor appointment for more prodding this afternoon. There was a week without anything, but now I’m busy again. Still, better to get any issues identified and treated before things get really bad.

And make no mistake they are getting bad. Lawlessness in our major cities, feral youth running wild, imported criminal cartels busy getting set up and established, and a flood of illegal dependents pushing aside citizens will continue to worsen our standard of living and cause anger and resentment in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. You need to start asking yourself, what are you willing to put up with? What are you willing to do? Would you join a lynch mob? Chase down and beat a thief? Burn down a nuisance property? Report your neighbors who you think might be doing those things? Will you join a neighborhood watch? or an armed militia? Will you become a police auxiliary, or volunteer with the Sheriff? Time to start thinking about lines in the sand.

And stacking. Always improving.

And for your sake, get out of big cities…

nick

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Mon. Oct. 2, 2023 – time to get back to work.

Cool edge to the start of the day. I’m sure it will get to be plenty hot today. We didn’t get any rain here though, despite the forecast.

I spent most of yesterday sitting at my desk watching youtube, and doing paperwork. Put my laundry away, and cooked breakfast and dinner. That was the extent of my involvement with the world.

Today I’ve got to get out of the house. I’ve got pickups to do, stuff to pull out of storage and get ready to drop off at the auctioneer, and stuff to donate. There are some other things I need to do too.

Can’t forget about the everyday, just because there is some bad stuff coming.

So get your everyday in order too, and consider that a prep, as you’re building the base that holds up the rest.

And stack. You know why.

nick

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Sun. Oct. 1, 2023 – see, we ran right out of Sept before I could order more in…

Cooler to start the day, but hot enough to boil the brains in your head if you are a mad dog or an Englishman… Or decide to cut the grass in the middle of the afternoon. Yeah, it was plenty hot and humid by midday yesterday, and probably will be again. We’re on the edge of a T-storm zone in the national forecast, but I’m hoping we don’t get rain. Although… today wouldn’t be too bad a day for it based on my plans.

I did mostly indoor things yesterday, auction stuff and watching the lots go by on a live auction. I bought a small gas powered gennie, and another that was in rough shape but very cheap, since I have to go pick them up anyway. If it runs or is easy to repair, I’ll either hold it in reserve or give it to someone. They are both headed to the BOL once running.

The outdoor stuff involved brain baking and cutting the grass. It needed to be done, and it was still cooler than 3 weeks ago.

Today should be paperwork, bill paying, cleaning, laundry, and other domestic bliss.

It’s weird to have a weekend without scheduled events or obligations. I’ll take it though.

Normal everyday stuff is pretty important too, if not as sexy as buying a new gub, or stacking freezedrieds…

Life is what happens to you while you wait for other things. Stack some life too.

nick

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Sat. Sept. 30, 2023 – “nuttin’ to do Abe, nuttin’ to do…”

Definitely cooler now than a month ago. A bit of chill even in the morning air. Plenty of damp though. Extra helpings of that. Although it threatened to rain with patchy dark clouds, it missed me all day yesterday, and the clouds helped with the sun too.

It was cool enough to work on the roof getting the downed limb cut up and off the roof. Did so, and the roof is in pretty good shape. There are a couple of ridge vent shingles that I should replace and one or two roof shingles. I probably won’t, as I think it will be more disruptive to the roof to tear out the old and install the new, than to just live with the lumpy damage. Unless it leaks, then we’ll fix it.

Spent the evening with a small group of dads from the kid’s school who support a couple of the extra activities by selling concessions. Nice group of guys, I’ll do what I can to continue participating. Several I already knew from other school and community groups. There was a time in my life that I was ready to move cities if I ran into someone I knew while out and about. Now I understand the value of community a bit more.

Whether you are sizing up your competition, trying to find allies, or just looking for friends, getting out and meeting people in your area is going to be critical if you don’t already have ties to your community. I know my thinking on this subject has changed. Let’s say it’s “evolved” or “become more nuanced.” Whatever you want to call it, I’m convinced you need to know them, and they need to know you. It might be a carefully edited version of you, (but don’t think you can fool people), but they need to believe they understand you to trust you. You will also likely benefit from being able to trust (at least under a limited set of conditions) other people. Or you’ll know that they will never trust you, or that you can’t trust them. Knowledge is power.

And of course, so are resources. Keep stacking.

nick

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Wed. Sept. 27, 2023 – I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK… and a locksmith too

Slightly cooler, then just as hot as ever. Well, high 90s, not low 100s but it will feel the same. We’re on the downslope toward winter, but still have a way to go. It certainly got hot enough yesterday afternoon for me to be moving slowly when outdoors.

Speaking of which, I got little done. I got to my rent house, intending to finish the lock work, and discovered I’d left the locks at home. Brought the re-key kit, but left the locks. Ended up taking the trash to my dumpster which is nearby so it wasn’t a total loss.

Had my auctioneer beg off for this week. Dang. I was on a roll and had momentum. That’s gonna delay getting stuff out of here. It will mean I can focus on other parts of the list though.

Like getting this tree branch off my roof. I have a plan. It might be dumb and foolhardy, but it’s a plan. I think it can be done safely and without a lot of fuss. We’ll see. Then once I find the locks, I’ll head to the rent house and finish up there. I can continue to an auction pickup, or head to school to pickup the kid when I’m done with that.

Should be a full day. If I don’t falter.

Keep improving. Keep stacking.

nick

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another absent friend, Dave Hardy, or OFD as he was usually known here. It’s been five years since his passing, and I miss his perspective and (cough) willingness to share. The religious aspects, from someone who rediscovered his faith, were particularly interesting to me. Raise a glass to “Absent Friends”.

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Mon. Sept. 25, 2023 – still working, still sweating…

IDK yet if it rained, but it was still hot when I went to bed. The breeze had picked up and I had a nice night on the dock watching lightning on the horizon. Pretty light show. Supposed to be a little cooler today, but that is predicated on the idea it stormed. Dunno if it did.

I spent most of yesterday in the garage. It was motivated by needing to place the pool table, but you all have heard me talking about cleaning and organizing for several visits. This time, it got done in depth. And it took two days. But now it’s done for a while. There are still things to sort out, and a shed and ‘workshop’ to do the same thing to, which not coincidentally will get even more stuff out of the garage. What I didn’t get done was any exploration of why the irrigation pump stopped working.

So that will be today’s task, weather permitting. Cut the pipes, pull the pump, open it up and see if it’s nothing but GrapeNuts ™ sized pieces of metal, or if there is some other issue. The motor is spinning but the pump isn’t sucking. And that sucks. (ha, couldn’t resist.)

If it is raining I might just call it a day early and head toward home. Plenty to do there too.

There is always plenty to do.

And stacking. There is always stacking to do.

nick

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Sun. Sept. 24, 2023 – a day that won’t live in infamy and probably won’t be special at all…

But it is likely to be hot. We are on the edge of a system and supposed to get rain, which would cool things down a bit, but who knows what will actually happen. It was hot enough yesterday that I was moving slowly and trying to keep up my fluid intake.

Did some cleaning and organizing. LONG overdue but not a priority until now. Didn’t finish so I’ll be continuing that today.

Spent time with the family paying a game and watching a movie, then I spent some time on the dock remembering my absent friends.

The night was warm at 85F but the breeze picked up and it was pleasant over the water. The list of absent friends gets longer, but I suppose that’s how this part of life works. I realize most of them were older than me, 10-20 years, and mentor figures mostly, and I wonder who will sit on a dock remembering me. I left the business without ever being “one of the old guys” and developing relationships with the next generation coming up. I suppose it will be family, and maybe a few guys I’ve never met in real life…

Hopefully that will be decades in the future, and I’ve got some time to work on the next generation. None of us know the appointed hour and some of them had damn little warning, so make the most of what you’ve got.

Do what you can to thrive, not just survive. Stack some stuff, and spend some time on friends and family.

nick

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Sat. Sept. 23, 2023 – 092323 – from dust we were made, and to dust we return

Cooler up here, but still muggy. No idea what the forecast calls for, except generally hot and humid. The edge of the T-storm zone in the national forecast moved and so Houston and the BOL are not near it anymore, at least for a day or two. Still summertime though and that means hot and humid.

Yesterday was eaten by ducks. I put some details in the comments. Fallen limbs, messed up lock cylinders, stuff to do that didn’t get done… and then finally driving to the BOL.

Today will be clearing a space for the pool table, unloading it from my truck, and looking at the irrigation pump. And any other small thing that pops up. There are lots of things to choose from.

Always be working to improve your position. That means in your social networks too, and I don’t mean social media. Get out and talk to some people today. Reinforce some of the shared bonds.

And stack. You’ll need both.

nick

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Fri. Sept. 22, 2023 – SS, DD. Rinse and repeat…

Cool would be nice, even followed by warm, or hot. Since we’re gonna get the warm and hot, it would be nice to get some cool. It wasn’t cool yesterday morning. Oh, it was cooler, but no chill in the air, and it got H O T hot… It was 88F after dark. National forecast has us on the edges of potential T-storm activity. Now that I’ve got a pool table in my pickup, I REALLY don’t want rain. Usually the edge avoids getting any. Fingers crossed.

So I did get my new pool table picked up. It was heavy. IS heavy. But I managed with help from my wife. I won’t be happy until it’s safely unloaded.

Did my computer repairs too. There is detail in yesterday’s comments, but the short story is– PSU was bad. Got that swapped and I’m back to computing like it’s 2005. Ok, 2010. What can I say, I like what I’ve got and see no reason to change.

Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes it’s not. LED flashlights are an example, as are digital mode trunk tracking scanners. There has been a lot of improvement in some things. Sleep systems, tents, clothing too. Most of us prepping probably acquired stuff some time ago, and it was late in it’s life then. It might very well be completely out of date now, and superseded in almost every way.

Take a look at your preps, and even your daily use items, and look for stuff that has been significantly improved with time. Really consider upgrading anything you identify. Like LED flashlights, modern first aid gear, and food that will store well, we are surrounded by choice and increased function. Take advantage of that.

And stack like your life depends on it.

nick

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Wed. Sept. 20, 2023 – no poking prodding or imaging today…

Cool and damp, warming later, low to mid 90s by afternoon. Hot in the sun, but cool in the shade. For values of cool, like 84F…

Did my doctors’ appointments yesterday. With one in the morning and one in the afternoon, I didn’t get much else done. Still using my NVR linux box to do all my daily computing since I can’t get my normal daily driver to boot. Hopefully I can sort that out later today.

One of my pickups is a PC that looks like about a 90-100% match for my daily driver. It’s local and I should have it by noon. With any luck I can just swap in my drives and be back in business. Since I don’t know if my issue is MB related or PSU related, that seems like the fastest and safest choice, if win7 will register on new (to me) hardware. I won some other stuff in the same auction (a going out of business auction) that should be handy too, mostly cleaners, paint, bug poison, and hardware. That stuff really adds up when you buy it separately.

After dealing with that, I need to load up and do another auction drop off. That should get one small storage unit to the half way clean point. Progress. Baby steps. Hopefully I’ll be able to pull some from another unit too.

Then I need to figure out how to disassemble and move a pool table. Wife wanted one for the BOL, and I got one… I’m supposed to pick it up on Thursday, but my normal helper buddy isn’t available. I’ll be scratching my head pretty hard today, trying to come up with help.

——————-
My imaging yesterday was normal. Barium, it’s what’s for breakfast! Yeah, not horrible, but not tasty either. Meeting with the GI specialist has me scheduled for a much more invasive procedure, in fact one from each end. All y’all were on my case to get that done, and now I will. Next month. But the looksee, snatch and grab fest is scheduled. Getting older isn’t for the weak. I realized that after a 3 year break without seeing doctors, all my new docs are younger than me. Kinda mind F-d me when I realized that. So far I like them all. My primary care doc called me yesterday to review the stuff he’s received from the specialists and the imaging. Never had a doctor initiate anything like that before. Kinda liked it. There was one thing in the CT scan that he wants a more detailed look at, so I’ll be making another appointment later today with yet another guy.

Keeping in mind that everything so far has been negative for issues, and that I’m mostly working a grab bag of things I’ve been putting off for years, it’s worth doing and getting a clean report- especially as things around us fall apart. It’ll be a reassurance to know that the corpus isn’t likely to become a corpse through something I neglected or overlooked. It’s a prep.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the passing of a great friend and mentor of mine. He went in with a complaint of swollen and sore belly, left with 6 weeks to live and a diagnosis of stomach cancer. He made it about 5 weeks. It’s been about two decades and I still miss him. RIP Butch.

Stack up the material goods,but don’t neglect the intangible. You’ll need to be health, and strong in mind body and spirit.

nick

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