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Category: why we prepare

Mon. Jan. 20, 2025 – a day to remember absent friends…

On this day in 2018, Robert Bruce Thompson passed away. Bob was the originator of this blog, among a great many other things. It’s a rare day that goes by without me thinking of him.

I’ve been “unlocking the door, and turning on the lights” here since he got sick, a task that I thought would be temporary, and short lived. With Barbara’s blessing, I have continued to do so to keep this place, Bob’s memory, and the community that lives here alive.

I’ve now published just over 2500 daily posts, slightly more than half of the total since Bob switched blogging platforms. Over 17,500 comments, of the almost 244,000 total. It’s those 244K comments that tell the real story– it’s the people who keep coming here, reading, commenting, and returning, that make this a special place on the internet and in the world.

The world is a better place for having had Bob in it, and for having all of you in it too.

I hope you will continue to find comradeship and value here, and stay with us as we make our way through whatever is coming, and to better days ahead.

As we move forward, take some time to look back and remember Bob, and the others who are now absent from our lives, but still part of us.

Thank you for the opportunity to continue being a part of your life.

nick flandrey

Read the comments: 80 Comments

Mon. July 8, 2024 – will we blow away? will we float away? only time will tell

Because it’s gonna be hot and humid unless it’s actually storming. And then I won’t care because I’ll be inside anyway. Supposed to be a hurry-cane headed this way. I’m not feeling the urgency for some reason.

I really do hope it’s a ball of nothing but some heavy rain. We’ll muddle through in any case.

Yesterday was mostly getting stuff buttoned up at the BOL and heading home. Didn’t do a lot of storm prep here because it was raining when I got here. Since then it cleared and hadn’t rained any more when I wrote this at 1am.

Since I’m completely unprepared, I hope it’s nothing. In case it’s not, I guess we’ll fall back on the preps from the last 15 years…

Y’all be safe out there, as it’s sure to suck for someone.

Mean while, think about the hazards local to you and stack accordingly.

nick

Read the comments: 78 Comments

Wed. May 29, 2024 – back at the BOL?? Maybe.

Cool, but warming. No idea if it’s gonna be nice for a while. Yesterday was certainly a kick in the teeth.

Started the day at the BOL when the tree guy arrived early. He said there was a storm on the way… He got done and gone in 2 hours, and I left another hour later, with black skies behind me. The storm was moving very quickly and chased me all the way to Houston. When I stopped running south, it caught me.

HUGE downpour, 3-5 inches of water in my buckets. An incredibly long hail storm with mostly golf ball sized hail. Before I could drive to shelter, one smashed my windshield. And the way things were spanging off the sheet metal, I thought the truck would LOOK like a golf ball. The damage to the windshield is in the lower corner, so it’s drivable, and the sheet metal held up better than I thought. Still, crazy storm.

Of course, it hit the BOL shortly after I left. Power went out around 1130am so it’s going to be almost 24 hours by the time I get up there to start the generator… This assumes that power isn’t restored overnight, since I’m planning and writing this Tuesday night. I’ll know in the morning if I actually have to head up.

Getting some sort of automatic power backup option for the BOL is rapidly becoming not optional.

This weather is nuts, but it is nothing like what will happen if people start targeting infrastructure.

Think about that if you are patting yourself on the back for not being in Texas…

And I don’t want to be the boy who cried wolf, but things seem to be getting out of hand in the political realm, and the geopolitical realm. Of course, in the end the wolf DID come… it won’t take much to break the grid.

A breakdown in previously reliable systems is one of the things that happens when a society starts to collapse. And there are plenty of people willing to help it along.

Think about your alternatives seriously. Make some plans and buy what you need.

Then stack it up.

nick

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Sun. May 26, 2024 – another day to work… and there is work that needs doing

Warm and humid rapidly becoming hot and crazy humid. Like yesterday did.

I tried to stay out of the sun, and not really exert myself. Those leg cramps kinda scared me. So I mostly worked on the mower. Details are in comments yesterday, but the summary is, there is always something more. And spending time on the mower, when I used to have a working mower, is time spent going backwards.

That is one of the risks of keeping older stuff running. The time it takes can be trivial or it can eat days. And you probably won’t know until it happens. On the other hand, new stuff breaks too, and the starting cost is higher.

While searching for the parts I know I bought, I did do a bit of sorting and organizing. That’s always good.

I’m hoping to finish messing with the mower, and actually cut some grass today. Then I’ll probably do some more demo in the dock house, and maybe give it one more spray with the ‘kills everything’ treatment (VitalOxide, if you were wondering, and not from any specific knowledge, but from getting it cheap in the auctions last year.) In Houston Texas you know you’ll need cleaner and disinfectant eventually. This stuff is supposed to be better than plain bleach, and has an odor reducing property too. Seems to be working so far.

I’ve got some other gas powered equipment that needs work too, so maybe I’ll get to that.

Or maybe I’ll do something else. The lists are long.

Having part on hand helps. Having the supplies you need on hand helps. Having the knowledge to apply them helps a lot. Stack all three.

nick

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Sat. May 25, 2024 – Still working at the BOL

Hot. Humid. HOT! It was high 90s yesterday and the humidity matched. Brain was boiling in my head. Had to get my cool vest out and wear it in the afternoon. Today will probably be similar.

I spent the morning fixing a second generator. New carb went on and it started on the third pull. Love that gennie, and glad it’s back in service. Power was restored around noon, so I didn’t need to use it, but I’ll take it back to Houston for the next blackout.

A quick note about extension cords while I’m thinking about them. If you are going to run a small gennie just for cold stuff and chargers, you will need extension cords. (assuming you don’t backfeed the house, or install a transfer switch). I like the ones with a molded on three-fer outlet on the end. I run 25ft and 50ft. I pick the length to put an end where I need it, and then extend to the next appliance. I always plug the “through” line into the middle outlet, and use the left or right for local power. This makes a nice branching power distro and is easy to troubleshoot. You don’t need super heavy cords if your gennie only puts out 20 amps anyway.

For the rest of the day I alternated picking up downed limbs, cutting the grass, and doing general cleanup. I’ve got two big burn piles, and I’m not done yet. I took the time to cool down several times. Even got my ice pack cool vest out of the freezer and wore it. It’s more effective than the evaporative cooling vest when it’s this humid. It made a big difference in my comfort.

I had to refuel the chainsaw twice so I guess I was busy.

Today will be more of the same, and if I’m not too crippled up I should be able to finish the cleanup. I’m pretty stiff and sore from the work. Physical fitness is a prep. I’ve never been one for working out, but I did do chinese martial arts and stretching for years. Unfortunately I stopped, and haven’t been able to get back in the habit. I’m finding that I can’t just “keep on” without extra effort though. Something has to change, and I think stretching and movement is a good place to start. I’ll add it to my list…

Stack. Especially infrastructure. You WILL need it.

nick

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Fri. May 24, 2024 – doing recovery at the BOL

Cool last night, and I’m hoping that continues. But it was sweatier than Satan’s butt crack in Houston. I was soaked to the skin loading the truck.

So yesterday was a bit of a kick in deeznutz… after doing my morning stuff, and just before I was ready to leave the house, I started getting texts about the power being out at the BOL, and there being a bunch of trees down, etc. That changed my plan for the day, and the weekend as it turned out.

Seems the bad weather that passed north of Houston Wed night did a number on the area around the BOL. In particular it dropped some big trees on power lines, and shook chunks of tree out of the sky all over the place. Including the roof of my house, the patio, and other places to be discovered in the light of day today.

Hearing how long the power had been out, I loaded up my truck with all the stuff I’d brought home to deal with the disaster in Houston- fuel, generators, tree cutting stuff… and I headed up. Had to do a stop on the east side of town to pickup stuff that couldn’t be delayed and EVERYONE was driving light idiots. Huge backups and delays throughout the Houston area. Took longer to get to my pickup, took longer to get to the BOL.

I only had about twenty minutes of daylight to get a gennie set up and survey the damage. One quick walk around and I was busy with propane and pull cords. Got ‘er adjusted and running, ran cords to the stuff that is supposed to be cold, and a few convenience items. Fans and starlink being the most critical. Cell booster antenna got knocked by a tree and will be one of the first things I try to put right today.

Then I’ll start looking at where I can cut and remove limbs and debris. Some stuff will need a pro, like the tree that is leaning on the chimney. I’d love to pull it back to vertical, but IDK if that works. Losing it will suck both for structural reasons -it stabilizes the hill, and for practical reasons = it shades the house in the afternoon, saving power on A/C.

Much of what fell was supposed to have been removed some time ago, but we delayed. That should be a lesson- if it needs doin’, do it.

That goes for fixing the generators too. I should have jumped on that. As for solar, it moved up the list, and involved some discussion with the boss. She’s on board with putting some up and getting started on the path.

It’s been a hellova few weeks, but it would have been a lot worse without stuff from the stacks. It’s not over, I think stuff like this is just getting started. Even if you are just getting started, stack something!

nick

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Wed. May 15, 2024 – another day to work.

Weather is supposed to be partly cloudy, but still warm and no rain. I need that so the lake can continue to drain, and the dockhouse can dry out.

Despite my late start and casual approach yesterday, I did make good progress. I was able to clear some of debris left behind as the water receded, and I got the walls opened up in the dockhouse. I removed the lower third of the wall, which was cheap paneling, and found sopping wet insulation behind it. The trim all got put outside to dry out too. Old boy made the baseboards from pressure treated 1×6, so that is good. And some of the door trim was cedar. The outside sheathing is cedar board and batten, so that will dry out fine.

Today will be treating all the wet wood with bleach and a mold/mildew killer, and continued cleanup. I’ll take the time to mow too, as we are supposed to get rain Thursday and/or Friday. The weekend should be nice. As long as we don’t get inches of rain, the lake should be ok.

I have to decide how to refinish the walls when they dry, but I’ve got some time to decide as I want the walls open for a while. I’m thinking vertical tongue and groove wood as the nice option, and plain luaun plywood as the cheaper, less sturdy option. It will look like wainscott because I’ll put the chair rail trim back in place. I’ll probably replace the insulation too. If it floods again, it’ll be ‘rinse and repeat’ but we could go another 30 years before seeing anything like this again. That’s how long it’s been since the last time. It might be smarter to leave out the insulation if I think flooding could re-occur.

So far, I’ve pulled everything I need out of the stacks.

Stacking is good. Having what you need close at hand saves so much time and stress. Knowing what needs to be done helps too.

Stack the knowledge and skill along with the stuff you need to do the job- whatever that job might be.

nick

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Thur. Jan. 26, 2023 – another day, another dollar

Cold, and damp.   37F when I went to bed, and probably starting the day from there too.   It did clear up yesterday although it stayed chilly.  And once the sun went down, it got pretty dang cold.

I did get a couple of pickups done.   Went by my secondary and moved some stuff around to make room for some other stuff.   Just a quick stop, as I couldn’t shut off my truck and be sure I could get it started again.    Rust never sleeps, and neither do other forms of corrosion.   A vise grip pliers from my mini car toolkit saved the day later on.  Details in yesterday’s comments.

Mini toolkit- 6″ vise grip, phillips screwdriver.  Flat screwdriver, medium sized.  6 in one screwdriver.  Slip joint pliers.  Diagonal cutters or wire stripper- minimalist.  6″ adjustable wrench.   Roll them up in a shop towel to keep them quiet, or put them in an old snack mix can…   That little kit helps me all the time, although it mostly helps me disassemble stuff for transport and not to repair my truck.  The ‘snack mix can’ is a heavy duty steel can for japanese bar mix that I happen to have saved a dozen of.   You could use soup cans, especially if you could find a set that slightly nest… and wrap a couple of feet of duct tape around the can.  If you don’t carry a knife (and why not?) add a thin stanley knife or a wallpaper knife with break off blade tips.  The idea is it all fits in a can to keep it neat.

Admittedly, if I’d looked under the hood sometime in the last few months, I might have seen and headed off the whole problem.   Stitch in time, and all that.  But I didn’t.  I do have replacement terminal clamps in the stacks, which should save a trip to the store.  Might try putting the treated felt washer on it this time.

It’s always something.  In this case, having an understanding of the systems involved, having done the previous repair, and having a tool with me that could be pressed into service,  all helped turn a potential issue into a non-issue.  I wasn’t prepared for this exact problem but I was prepared for some sort of problem.

And that is the best you can hope for, that your preps help solve the problem.

Knowledge, and stuff, stack them up.

n

 

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Mon. Jan. 9, 2023 – ah the smell of a fresh new week….

That will almost certainly be cool and wet, although warm and wet could happen.  That’s the joy of living near the Gulf…  It was pretty chilly yesterday morning at the BOL, but it did warm up and it was a beautiful sunny day.   Got chilly again when  the sun went down though.   National forecast has us in clear weather for a couple of days anyway.

I did get some smaller things done.   Got two sets of shelves up in the garage, and some stuff moved to them.  Took down a rickety old shelf ‘thing’ that was left behind for us.   It worked for a while, but if not wedged into the corner and held in place by a metal cabinet, it wouldn’t have stood for 10 minutes.

Took a few minutes and broke some more concrete.  I feel that in my arms today.

Took an hour and worked on my  truck.   On the way up I noticed that only a little bit of water was spraying out of the window washer.   Topped up the tank, but it was mostly full.  Since I  had the compressor at the BOL, I thought I’d try blowing air back through the nozzles to clear out any blockage.   Didn’t work, but did reveal the issue.   There is some sort of check valve in the line, and it was broken.  Cracked at first, then  40 psig air blew it apart.   Had to take a couple of panels off to get to the part, and replaced it with a 1/4″ barb fitting from my drip irrigation parts box.  How’s THAT for a prep!  Well, a lucky improv anyway.   Cheap brittle plastic part.  (edit- it may have frozen, I haven’t driven the truck much.)   I’ll look it up today and see if I can get a replacement.  If not, I’ll just run with the barb.

This was the first time I’ve really towed anything with the new expy and it did fine.   Better than I did after moving all that rock by hand.

Today will be moving stuff around, going through auction stuff, returning the trailer, and sorting some stuff out.   If it’s dry, I’ll start taking down outside Christmas decorations.   Maybe I’ll do some stretching exercises.   I really need to get back in the habit.

And of course, I’ll be stacking things.  Why don’t you join me?

nick

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Fri. Dec. 23, 2022 – we’ll soon know if we can stave off 3rd world status for a while

Cold.  Don’t know how cold when I am writing this but I know it will be cold.  Also, relatively damp.  ‘cuz Houston…   it was 20F when I went to sleep and that is pretty dang cold in Houston.  Don’t know what it got down to at the BOL, I’ll probably find out later today.  No precip in Houston.

I guess I’ll also find out if the outdoor water heater survived.   Kinda forgot about that, since this was our first weather event since we installed it.   It is outside the building envelope and not very well protected from cold.   Nothing I was willing to do at 1 am. when I thought about it.

I had a pretty normal day yesterday, probably should have done more cold prepping.   Instead I got my antenna tower (it’s in good shape, a couple of minor things will need fixing, and the missing stuff will need to be ordered, but otherwise- never installed.)  Wife got mom from the airport.  I went grocery shopping, we did some half-hearted preps, and spent the night decorating the tree and wrapping presents.   I’ll deal with aftermath later.

Worst case, if the heater is trashed, I’ll bring the propane one from the BOL home, and temp it into the plumbing while we find a replacement.   TOTALLY don’t want to do that, but missed the boat on weatherizing it.  It was working at 1am.

If the grid holds together, it’ll prove we can still do maintenance and planning.  If not, we’re skiing down the slope.  I’m hoping for “holds together.”

But I also know/believe we are on the slope, headed downhill, and accelerating.  Any gains will be local and short lived.

So stack the things you will need for a while.  Be flexible, and resourceful.  Plan to survive.

nick

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