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Category: prepping

Wed. Apr. 13, 2022 – ya put your right foot in, ya put your right foot out…

Warm and wet again.   It did rain on the plain in Spain yesterday, for values of ‘rain’ and ‘spain’ that are closer to ‘houston’ and ‘misty drizzle’.   Rounding error.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.   Today should be more of  the same, overcast, humid, rain in places.

Did my ‘south’ pickups.  Stuff for the BOL and gub accessories mostly.  “Why, no sir, I don’t have a single complete gub in the house….”   I might have a “few” parts in a box somewhere…

I’ve got my ‘north’ pickups to do today and tomorrow.   Looking at the map, I may not combine them with my trip to the BOL to meet the engineer.   One is WAY off the path.  It might make more sense to do the out of the way pickup today and just leave it all on the truck for the trip up tomorrow.  So many choices.

Americans are certainly used to an overabundance of choices.   We even have a branch of science* to study why having too many choices is bad in retail, and in life.   I’ve argued for a while that one of the main underlying and crucial differences between Americans and Europeans (well, really everyone else) is that we come from a culture of abundance and they come from a culture of scarcity.  It really does impact how you relate to almost everything.

With that in mind, the coming shortages and economic collapse are going to be very hard for Americans to accept and ‘deal with’.   I think there will be a lot of people whose brains just sort of vapor lock on the idea that there AREN’T any choices.  They are going to sputter, and deny, and b!tch, and fail to adapt to the new reality.

Don’t be one of them.  Get your head around the idea that things are not normal, won’t be normal, and it will be a long time before a new normal establishes itself.  This will free you to act accordingly.

Stacking up stuff so you personally still have choices might be a really good idea too.

nick

*well, not ‘science’ exactly, but SOCIAL science…

(and Friday the Thirteenth falls on a Wednesday this month)

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Mon. Apr. 11, 2022 – let’s go bran… flakes. Get ready for ‘meatless Monday’…

Windy and clear, not particularly cool.   Yesterday was nice until the evening when there was some misty drizzle.   Never got too hot, and the sun stayed behind clouds.

That was perfect weather to wash the truck.   I figured if it was time for an oil change, it was probably time to wash it too.  I’m really not interested in washing vehicles, but it occurred to me that for what I paid, I should take better care of it.   I’ll try to be better, I  swear.

I actually got a bunch of stuff done, and some stuff just had a bit of progress made, but even baby steps are steps, right?

Having someone over (our buddy the electrician) made me realize how far I’ve let some things go.   I still have the boxes of  Christmas lights sitting on the patio, because I didn’t put them right back in the garage attic where they belong.   So I did a bit of tidying.  Also got some plumbing supplies together for the BOL, and washed the truck.   Checked the oil and fluids in all the vehicles, and added wiper fluid to all of them.  When I bought the gallon of 1:50 concentrated windshield washing fluid, I thought it would be about a lifetime supply.  I’m down to the last inch and a half in the gallon bottle though.

As a side note, all three vehicles need DIFFERENT weights of motor oil.   What the what?  Honda’s is one I’ve never heard of and never even noticed in the store- 0W-20.   I guess I’ll get at least one oil change for the Honda, although my wife has been having a mechanic shop do the changes for her.  Oil changes for my trucks make sense to stock, as I’ve actually done a change on the Ranger, and on my old Expy.  I can do it again if I have to, but I don’t like to mess with it.

It does all sorta circle back to the idea of “timeliness”.   Changing oil, checking fluids, they are about catching or preventing problems.   Putting stuff away as soon as you are done using it helps keep it in good condition, and keeps it where it can be easily found later.  Acting once you’ve come to a conclusion about a course of action keeps the action timely too.  Wait too long and the conditions might have changed.   It’s not a new or profound concept, there are aphorisms and ‘rules of thumb’ galore that address it, from “A stitch in time…” to “for want of a nail” to “make hay while the sun shines…” and “strike while the iron is hot” among countless others.

I’m guessing I’m not the first guy to dither, or procrastinate, judging by the number and pervasiveness of the culture hacking aphorisms.  I’ll share with you that I feel like time is getting short and the ability to act in a timely manner is becoming more important than ever.   In Taoism, it’s the idea the you maintain yourself in a ‘centered’ state, equally ready to move in any direction.  Whatever tradition you come from, being awake, alert, and ready to move in any direction as needed (literally and figuratively) will be very important for your well being during the next couple of years.

If you’re not there yet, start practicing the mindset, and gathering the resources.

Don’t delay, stack something today.

 

nick

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Tues. Mar. 22, 2022 – 0322022 – think about infrastructure…

Rainy and wet, with an unknown number of bad things happening overnight.   Unknown because I was asleep, and if I don’t directly experience it, it must not have happened, right?  Oh, yeah, that’s not how my team thinks.

Spent the day doing auction stuff, while waiting for septic service guys and foundation repair guys to call back.   The good news is I have an appointment to meet the septic guy on site – Thursday.   I can even sleep in my own bed, and drive up there for the meeting.   And if the toilets flush and the shower drains flow, I might stay up there and work.  If I can get the foundation guy there during that time, I’ll feel like king of the world.

Today is pickups and a lot of driving around.   Lots of stuff for the new house, some ham/radio stuff to use and to resell, and various bits and pieces.    I have an item that I sold 16 days ago, shipped USPS Priority Mail, and it still hasn’t been delivered.    It showed as “unknown” until today when it popped back up in the system in St. Louis.   Hopefully it will be delivered in a day or two.    The buyer has been very patient.    He didn’t even let me know it wasn’t there yet until a couple of days ago.   I was going to ship replacements today, but since it popped up, he said to hold off on that.   Mail is getting weirder, and not just for me.

 

Breakdowns in previously reliable services are just one of the signs of a slow collapse.   If it’s really happening, you’ll be responsible for more and more of what USED to be provided by others, or you’ll have to be content with whatever you get, whenever you get it.  Think about the systems and what you can do to replace them or smooth the ups and downs.   I’ll look at this in a bit more detail later but my mind is foggy today.

Stack stuff you will need for infrastructure or services, even if you don’t put it into use today.  Stack it high.

n

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Mon. Mar. 21, 2022 – stuff to do, stuff to do, stuff to do…

Supposed to be nice in Houston today, but some possibility of rain.  The week at the BOL was very nice.  It warm in the sun, and cool at night.  Perfect for campfires and getting out on the water.  Not great for getting IN the water, but the kids managed to have a splash-fest anyway.

Between the work and the unfamiliar bed, I’m pretty sore.  Kinda late in life to be starting another project like this with a body in the condition mine is in, but sweat equity is the only way to make it work.  And hey, now I get to learn about alternative sewage disposal, and I’ll be ahead of the game when city services stop….    Or I’ll dig a slit trench.

Houses are a lot of work.  Houses in a distant location are more work.  Houses in a distant location that is also rural are a LOT more work.

So, accomplishments so far…

– provide some of own comms infrastructure.

– mop up sewer water.

– paint, and a lot of scraping.

Still to do…

-everything.

Water and food are next while working the other issues, primarily sewage and foundation.  For food, I will move some buckets of bulk up there, and some cases of cans.  Just enough to get started.   I’ll be looking for a chest freezer too.

I’ve already started thinking about rain collection.  The gutters need to be redone anyway, so why not have them dump into a collection system?   The roof is metal and smooth, relatively clean.   Sure there is a whole lake of water, but it’s 40 or more feet lower than the house and the garden.    It would be a good idea to have some potable water barrels in place too, in case the lake got contaminated with radiation or a chemical agent.  Having some water in tanks would be a good hedge against that.  They’d be closer to the house too.  And as it happens, I’ve got a couple of tanks that I have empty at the moment.  More stuff for the ‘transfer it to the BOL’ list.  Oh, and filters.  Need more filters.

The BOL will be a long term project, but there is a need to get some short term solutions in place.

Speaking of water filters, there was a BigBerkey in one of the amazon returns auctions locally.  It ended up selling for $110.   Deals and gear are out there.

Of course, I’m a week behind on every thing here that I was supposed to be doing too.  So there is that.  Like the title says, stuff to do.

 

I’m behind in the news, but I’m sure we’re not further from world conflict, economic collapse, and all the  troubles of the world.   So stack, stack, and restack.  You’ll be glad you did.

nick

 

 

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Tues. Mar. 15, 2022 – The Ides of March. Beware! If you’re Caesar.

The rest of us can probably not worry much.

Cool and wet in Houston.   Last I heard from up north a storm was rolling in at the lake…  but because of the complete lack of comms there, I’ll find out when I get back up there later today.

 

Regarding Barbara… I put up a post on her site and did an update comment late yesterday.  Long story short, her knee got infected (some MRSA variant) the knee replacement implant was removed, and she’s at a facility where they are both managing the infection and doing PT to get her strong enough to return home.  She is doing ok, better than the last time this happened, almost exactly 2 years ago.   She expects to be at home in a couple of weeks, and will probably not post until then.  If I have any news I’ll post here and at her site.

 

Regarding my adventures in BOL land… no comms.   My older cell booster couldn’t see anything.  The neighbor says his booster works ok, but only with verizon.  I’ll try my newer booster, but even if it works, someone in the family will be getting a verizon phone plan.   The neighbor is amenable to sharing his starlink service if it ever arrives, so that should ease things a great deal.

My wife spent the day painting out 70s plywood paneling.   I was messing with the antenna and booster most of the afternoon.   We got a late start, and wanted to take the first full day there a bit easy.   Kids were inflating stand up paddle boards, and kayaks.  Maybe we’ll get out on the lake today, if the weather opens up.   It was cool in the morning but got uncomfortable in the sun by afternoon.

I came home to reload the trailer and make a second run.   I also brought a bunch of scrap home to dispose of here.  No trash service up there.   I spent the evening loading up, and will load a bunch more stuff before leaving this morning.  I’ll unload and head back to Houston in the afternoon.  I have to return the trailer before 6pm.  I will probably spend tonight in Houston like last night, and head back up Wednesday morning.   I’ll load some more in the pickup, if it’s not raining.

It’s very unnerving to be completely without news up at the BOL.  No AM radio during the day, only a few FM stations, mostly church stations, and a country station.  No news breaks that I heard all morning.  I’m taking a shortwave with me today.  Funny if that works better than local.   I can also take my XM radio.   I will be putting up a tower at some point, for TV, cell, and ham radio.    We don’t have to watch or listen, but that’s a bit different than not being able to.    At some point I might try my DirecTV “camping” system.  It’s a dish on a ground supported tripod with 50ft of cable.   I’ve got plenty of DirecTV gear, but no active subscription.   It didn’t occur to me yesterday morning to try the XM in the car.  In any case, the world survived another day.  Gnu willing that will continue.

 

Busy days, lots of driving, and WWIII rumbling in the distance…  interesting times.

Stack something new today.

n

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Tues. Mar. 8, 2022 – busy day. Busy week.

Cold again.  Probably just cool and damp later, but cold this am.   We got drizzle yesterday, despite the weather liars at openweathermap.org assuring me that we would not.  The national forecast had us in the rain zone.   It wasn’t bad really, or long, and as I headed north I was back in sunglasses pretty quickly.

Gas prices are rising pretty quickly even here in Texas.  Markets are pretty distorted, and demand is all over the place.   I don’t see any reason for it to get better anytime soon, and lots of reasons for it to get worse.

In fact, that sums up my outlook on pretty much any subject at the moment.  I don’t think sanity and practicality are going to break out.   I see a doubling down on the insanity instead.  And I see it building to a head, and then coming apart kinetically.

Now some people around here have chided me (in the spirit of goodwill, I believe) that I was too negative-  “the end is nigh” ” the end is nigh-er”…   but I don’t think it’s “the end” that’s nigh, but a massive disruption, a massive change in pretty much everything, except human nature.  I did not know the mechanism, but pestilence, war, and famine are always good bets.    Current world events seem to be supportive of that belief, if not yet settling on the mechanism.  And don’t forget to embrace the power of ‘and’ when it comes to mechanism.

I find myself wondering if I was negative enough.  My recent lull in prepping and lack of enthusiasm in the face of everything would seem to indicate that I wasn’t taking it seriously.  Well, now we seem to be at the elbow of the curve for  a lot of things, food prices, gas prices, violence, and I’m feeling a bit anxious that I let too much time slip away.

If you are feeling that too, I think we need to shake it off, take the time we have and USE it.   Anything that improves our position is worth it, with any prep being better than none.   I’m still living by my requirement that nothing I do can be irrevocable, but I’m willing to burn a bridge or two if I have to now.  Nations are starting to do the same.  Several have now announced bans on export of food, or fertilizer, or fuel.  If shortages are coming, nations and people are acting to secure their own needs first.   I recommend doing the same.   DON’T be that guy, faced with empty shelves, crying “why didn’t you leave any for me?”

Unless you are someone’s minor child or legal ward, no one has any obligation to put your needs ahead of their own.  That is not the way many of us are used to thinking of the world, or even living our lives, but that is the base reality.   No one is coming to save you.  Plan to save yourself.  After that, if it’s what you want, plan to save others.

All of it is a lot easier with stacks of needful things.   Get busy.

n

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Fri. Mar. 4, 2022 – If it weren’t for disinformation, there’d be no information at all

Cool but not cold, still damp, and maybe sunny later.  It was finally sunny after noon yesterday and I actually got a little sunburnt standing around outside while doing my errands.   Now I’m itchy and sore.

I decided to consolidate some of my storage units to one closer to the house.  Besides being burgled, and not having any video or suspects, the company recently posted a slew of ‘no guns’ signs.   They are legally posted, legal wording, and I’m ignoring them completely.  They weren’t in the contract, so since I’m unable to end the contract before my monthly anniversary date, I consider them to be invalid.  No way I’m going to be unarmed on the property when they can’t even keep thieves from robbing my unit.

I’ll be sorting for ebay and local auctions while I move the stuff to the new unit.  And of course, it needs to happen immediately so I don’t end up paying for an extra month on the old unit.   As a side note, there are a lot more storage units available now than there were a year or two years ago.  Don’t know why.

Took another couple of bins to one auctioneer, and he says he wants more stuff next week.   He’s expanded his business and now he needs to keep feeding it, so he wants my stuff.  I got the check and report from the last auction and I made money.  Most of the stuff that sold well came from the Goodwill outlet store  (the ‘bins’).   If I could double the gross, and do it twice a month, it would be a really nice part time income again, just with the one auctioneer.

Sold one item this week on ebay, that has been listed for 3 years.  It’s the first sale of the item that I can recall, and I’ve got 79 more listed.  Made 12$.  Ebay has not been paying off for smaller items like I’d hoped, but my daily listing stopped, and that kills you in the search results.  I’ll take the blame for now.

Today I really need to end up at my client’s after I do a pickup or two.

Then home to do weekend stuff.

We still don’t have an actual “closing date” for the BOL, but there is a plan to do the paperwork, transfer, and handover separately, instead of doing it all on one day, in person.  Should work ok.   We just need to actually DO it.

Once I can start the process of moving and fixing at the BOL, I’ll feel better, although the work will be harder.  I do better when I have more external deadlines.

The world seems to be imposing some deadlines on all of us.  We don’t get to see the timeline, but the feeling is very strong that there IS one.   I think things will be getting very ugly, and it has already started to accelerate.   I’m reminded of the thought experiment about the pond and the water lilies that double in number every few days.   The question is, how much of the pond is covered the day before the last doubling?  And the answer is “half”.    The pond goes from half covered to fully covered in one final doubling.   It takes a while to get to ‘half’ but only one additional period to get to ‘full’.   “It happened overnight!”  “It came out of no where!”   We’re in the early stages, but the end will seem sudden nonetheless.

So stack food, fuel, and friends, plus whatever else you are still short of.  I’m increasingly sure we’re gonna need ’em.

nick

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Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 – class all day

Cold and damp, chance of rain.  Friday was cold all day, and grey too.  Not a nice day to be driving all over the place but better than pouring down rain…

I did make my pickups though.  Among them, an inflatable stand up paddle board, and a “septic tank riser ring.”   No idea what the septic tank part is, but it was cheap, it was the first septic tank part I’ve ever seen in the auctions, and I just bought property with a septic tank.   Like the irrigation water pump, I figured that the way my life works, I should probably buy it when I see it.  So I did.   Got some double wall stove pipe too.  That makes 3 or 4  stove pipe pieces so far, cap, pipe, heat exchanger box, and something else too.  Again, my life works in a way that I felt like those things would be good to have.   There is an outbuilding that I’d love to have a woodstove in for heat…

Today my non-prepping hobby has a repair class.  I took it a couple of years ago, so this is a refresher, and a chance to get together with people.  Meatspace baby.

Did not get to the store today.  Did fill up the Ranger with gas.   $3.20/gal at Shell.   Not the cheapest store around, but wasn’t crazy expensive before this.   Most of the signs I passed were $3.10/gal.

Lots of people aware of the world situation.  Not many interested in going to Ukraine to fight .

 

The situation can change in a hurry.   Keep your head on a swivel, and keep stacking.

 

n

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Mon. Feb. 14, 2022 – Valentine’s Day in the US, so pony up for the pretty….

Cool, clear, some wind…  I hope.   Yesterday was, with a gorgeous sky.   I could use more nice days, without the freezing howling wind.

Did some stuff during the day, but mostly auction shopping for the <s>new house</s>  BOL.  Then ran a couple of errands, swung by the storage unit, and got ready for today.

Pickup and drop off today, with a visit to my secondary.  Then daddy and D2 will do some projects or play chess… and dinner, etc.

I feel more sense of accomplishment when I don’t list all the things I am not going to get done.  Funny that.

Getting to be time for some planting.  Officially, we could still get a frost, but it doesn’t feel like it this year.  I need a plan for home and for the BOL.  We’re still a week or more from signing, but there’s a lot to do and I’d hate to miss a planting because I didn’t do the planning.  I’m bidding on another of the seed displays too.  Isn’t it Alas Babylon that the lady decides to store seed packets as light and cheap trade goods?

Needles and thread might be a good choice too.   The old treadle powered sewing machines are going for crazy money in the estate auctions.   Hundreds of dollars if they are in good shape and running.   Electric ones, unless they are brand new and feature rich, are going for $20-50 for the most part.  Older Kenmores are solid machines and can be had cheaply.  If you don’t have a sewing machine, I’d recommend getting a used one, and a basic book on sewing, and use it.  Since the crowd here is mostly men, use it to do some masculine stuff, like making your own web gear, or covering some old furniture… or make a shop apron.  Or doll clothes for the kid.  Think of it as just another power tool to learn and use.

Stack some tools and the knowledge to use them.  Stack the stuff needed too.

 

n

 

(and get something nice for your spouse.  you need the support and help.)

 

 

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Sun. Feb. 13, 2022 – Friday the 13th falls on a Sunday this month…

Cold again, and still damp.   I could barely walk yesterday morning.  And it was blowing to beat the band.  Today should be more of the same.

Did my stuff yesterday.   Been doing a lot of driving around so I’ve got various audio books in the vehicles to keep me interested and awake.  I am finding that I really like it, if I like the reader.   In the pickup, Frozen Heat, Richard Castle.  Melodrama in the pretend style of pretend author, spun off [or filled in?] from the TV show Castle.  Nathan Fillon in the original role, and I keep trying to hear his voice, but the reader does a good job despite not being Fillon.   It’s silly, and very much a ‘play within a play, within a play.’   Really liked the show, and I’m enjoying the silly book.  It has some easter eggs, like a cop duo named Malcom, and Reynolds and it doesn’t take itself seriously.

In the Expy, Einstein, Walter  Isaacson.  Well read, it’s a bio of Einstein along with an explanation of his ideas.  Very accessible, and I’m learning things.

Also in the Expy, when the kid is in the truck, The Magician’s Nephew, Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis.  Produced by Focus on the Family, it’s a dramatization and is fully produced with voice talent, sound effects, etc.   I read through the Chronicles many times, but don’t remember this one so it’s fun to hear it.  All of the discs in this set are well done, with the exception of a VERY strange vocal acting choice for Aslan.  Recommended if you liked the stories.

I ran out of the Louis Lamour stories, but I found some more of the Sherlock Holmes, and I’ve got a couple more of the Richard Castle books too.   Audiobooks on CD are cheap on ebay, and I’m really enjoying listening to them, which I really didn’t expect.  Beats the snot out of AM talk radio….

 

I’ve talked to a lot of people this week, during my errands.   Most of them thing wuflu is about over, and certainly treating it as a special ongoing disaster is D O N E done.    There is a broad awareness of coming hard times.  People see the shortages, they feel the pinch of the inflation.  Let’s Go Brandon got a return chorus from the group at my hobby club meeting when someone mentioned inflation.   There are a lot of retired technical specialists and small business owners in the group, but this is the first year there has been much mention of politics.  It’s normally a politely politics free space  focused on our common interest.   I spent about 10-15 minutes talking to one of the guys about lakehouses, rent houses, and how he’s selling stuff off and getting out of his investments.  He figures property is about as high as it’s really likely to go, and interest rates will kill it.  I’m kinda inclined to agree.  And everyone was talking about supply chain issues and scarcity impacts on construction, repair, and the economy.

 

Do your own research, draw your own conclusions, but I’m betting on “much worse before it gets better” and while I can’t pick a specific time, “soon” seems about right.   Stack all the things.   It’s gonna get sporty.

nick

 

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