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Sat. Aug. 23, 2025 – back hurts, oh my

By on August 23rd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, ebay

Hot and humid, although a cool front moved through and yesterday was a bit cooler than usual. And we got intermittent rain throughout the day. Cool is nice, rain isn’t.

I got to my thing, and did my volunteer position… there were some learning pains for at least one of the other volunteers, the Treasurer, who also has to assign selling tables for the event. He missed some. All was dealt with in a friendly enough way, and the first day went pretty smoothly.

Today we start even earlier, and run all day. It’ll be a long day. Standing on the carpet covered concrete event space floor, and carrying in all the participant stuff as well as my own, really made my back hurt. Not ’til I got home though. Today may require some medication. Sunday definitely will.

Did ok, grossed a bit more than I usually do across the whole weekend, so if I sell more stuff, I’m ahead of the game. I think I will sell more, and I’ve been enjoying talking with people. I’ll have a chance to do a lot more of that today too.

Y’all are on your own again today. I’ll check in when I get home.

nick

(stack some meatspace, and some networking)

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Fri. Aug. 22, 2025 – Hobby time

By on August 22nd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, ebay

Hot and humid, but starting a little cooler since a storm blew through last night. It’s been Houston weather otherwise, with 90sF in the afternoons, and humidity almost as high. I just don’t want rain during our load in today.

I did my errands yesterday. Got the trailer. Loaded it up. Even did one small pickup. Had a good chat with the seller, he says everyone is having trouble getting good stuff to sell. His wholesalers are blaming tariffs for causing less stuff to be imported, and then less stuff to end up in the reseller markets. He says even buying imported stuff directly from bulk wholesalers has gotten too expensive. In any case, there is a lot less good stuff in the resale auctions lately.

Today is the setup and load in day for my non-prepping hobby Fall show. Swapmeet/convention/tradeshow, it’s a chance to see some people I only see during the show. And a chance to talk with people from all over the country, which usually gives me a better handle on what is really going on out there.

I’ll be getting the kids out the door to school, then taking off myself. No posting until we’re done in the evening. Talk among yourselves…

And prep. That stuff ain’t gonna stack itself.
nick

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Thur. Aug. 21, 2025 – so much f#ckery, so many f#ckers

By on August 21st, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Hot today. Humid too. Rain in the forecast, but that’s generic for Houston anyway. It certainly did get hot yesterday, well into the 90sF. And the humidity was higher than a humidor. Pretty unpleasant outside.

So I stayed in. I needed to find and sort a lot of stuff that I’m taking to my sale. I spent the afternoon doing that. I spent the morning doing other stuff. Like working with the buyer to get shipping worked out for the item I sold. It’s 3ftx3ftx7ft and weighs about 400-500 pounds. I don’t have a dock or forklift. Fortunately, the LTL trucker they hired can provide a liftgate pickup. FWIW, if you get something big delivered, you probably want a liftgate delivery. That will get the thing into or out of the truck and onto the ground. After that it’s all on you.

Today I’ve got to pickup my rental trailer, which is a half hour away. Then in no particular order, shop for drinks for the crew, load my stuff into the trailer, get the kid to her Thursday activity, and make something for dinner.

Busy day. And then the weekend is non-stop. And it turns out the kids have stuff that they are doing so IDK if anyone is going to the BOL this weekend to get ready for next weekend…

Too much to do. Not enough time or energy.

But I can stack…

nick

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Wed. Aug. 20, 2025 – got stuff to do

By on August 20th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Should be a little cooler, after the rain yesterday. But I’m betting it isn’t really, and I’m sure it will be just as humid. I was soaked to the skin yesterday before the rain came. And it wasn’t that hot, just humid and stifling.

I got some stuff done. Ordered my trailer for the weekend. Ordered a conversion kit for one of my generators. I really should get the receptacle installed for my NG whole house genny too. I’ve got the stuff, just working in the sun and heat is daunting. When sweat is dripping from your fingers, it’s hard to do fiddly bits.

I moved a bunch of my hobby sale stuff to my shop, and did some more electrical troubleshooting. Now that I have power, but still don’t have half the stuff working, it was time to meter some stuff. After lots of poking around, I’m pretty sure one of the supply legs has a failing fuse. I’ll look at replacing it today or tomorrow. Good voltages coming off the meter, and into the disconnect, but bad coming out of the one fuse.

Did some domestic bliss yesterday too. I’ll have to fold the laundry today, but at least I’ll have clean socks. Oh, and coordinated with the buyer for shipping of the big item I sold. I need to buy straps and get the thing onto a pallet, and stretch wrapped. He’s looking at a pickup next week.

All the while I’ve got more prep to do for my weekend show. Today it will be moving the bins out of my office. I might have a bin or two in the attic too.

Lots to do. A grocery and Costco trip should be in there too. I need to stack another bale or two of Charmin while it’s on sale.

There’s always something to stack, something to learn, or something to repair or replace. Get busy.

n

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Tues. Aug. 19, 2025 – when a man and a woman love each other very much,…

By on August 19th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Rain. And maybe a bit cooler? We eventually got pounded last night after hours of grumble and flash. It was hot and dripping all day before that. Dunno which we’ll get today, hot and humid or cooler and humid.

I got a fair amount of stuff done yesterday, at least by my modest standards for success these days. I returned the plate compactor, and then I took all the BOL trash and got rid of it. Picked up a couple of things for my show this weekend. Did an auction pickup for another AED. I’ll need to order a battery. And I got home without going thrifting.

Did some auction stuff, and worked with my buyer to arrange local pickup of the big thing he bought. I’ve never done that with ebay, and it’s a new process for both of us. Hopefully we can get the details settled and I can get paid, and get the thing out of the shop. Next up, sell more of the stuff.

I do have to write some checks this month and that’s gonna sting. Not much incoming this month. Good thing I married up. Choosing your life partner is the single most important thing you can do to determine your success or failure in life. Choose well.

Hurricane coming for some folks. If you are in the target zone, get your preps ready. Report back on your experiences. We learn as much from failure as success.

So stack up a few failures. You aren’t trying enough if you aren’t failing, and the beauty of failure is now you know one more thing that won’t work. We learn as we go.

Stack what you can.

nick

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Mon. Aug. 18, 2025 – more than half way thru August? When did that happen?

By on August 18th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Hot and humid in Houston. Because, summer in Houston. No real surprises there. It was hot at the BOL yesterday too, and so humid the windows were covered in condensation. Three drops of rain didn’t really cool it down either.

I did get a bunch of stuff done. I finished power washing the section of the roof I’d started on Saturday. I cleaned the driveway and powerwashed some other stuff. Did a bunch of cleaning in the garage, including setting up the air conditioners and putting the heater away. Loaded up the trash and the compactor for return today.

Which is where I’ll probably start the day, after catching up on ebay and auction stuff. I don’t want to pay for an extra day on the plate compactor. One thing I’ll find out today is if the dark reddish purple on my neck is the burn I think it is… I can’t feel it, but it looks really nasty. I started aloe on it as soon as I realized. I guess some sun got past my hat and crisped me up good.

I’ll also need to figure out how to ship or hand over the big item I sold. It’s about 3x3x6ft and will need to go motor freight, if the guy doesn’t come pick it up. As long as he arranges shipping, I only need to strap it to a pallet and meet the truck. I’ll admit it feels weird to finally be selling stuff again.

The rest of the week will be me getting stuff together for my non-prepping hobby convention/meeting/swapmeet next weekend. If I can get it all to one place it will be a lot easier than driving around with a trailer on Thursday.

Starting to get busy, and school is only starting the first full week. ay carumba.

Stack something, it’s the easy, default choice.

nick

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Sun. Aug. 17, 2025 – no rest for me, well, not much

By on August 17th, 2025 in cooking/baking, culture, lakehouse

Hot and humid, but maybe a little bit less hot. Yesterday had some storms pass around us and that helped bring the temperature down for a bit. Got into the 90sF later though. Hopefully, today will be clear but a little overcast wouldn’t be terrible.

I finished my walkway. For now anyway. I got a couple of sections of roof powerwashed but have more to do today. It was a good amount of work considering my later start. I’m hoping that getting the roof back to shiny white will help with the A/C bill by reflecting more heat. It wasn’t on my list at all but it fit into it by being something I could do in the heat. It looks so much better too. I wonder if there is some sort of wax or spray that would make it more slick to keep the dirt and mildew off of it.

Today I’ll do more roof washing, then I’ll pack up for home. I don’t think the grass needs mowing, but I’ll look again in the daylight. The dishes need washing and the house needs a general spruce up. The girls will probably head up next weekend, while I have my hobby convention. Maybe I’ll even get some stuff put away in the garage. Could happen.

All it takes is time and motivation.

And stacking.

nick

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Sat. Aug. 16, 2025 – at the BOL, working. Unless it is raining…

By on August 16th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

But it’s probably not raining. It’s probably 100F and 90+% RH. Because that’s what yesterday was like. And tomorrow will probably be like that too.

I did my stuff Friday, and actually left the house at the time I needed to. That let me do a pickup on the way. Water skis, solar panels, EZGo parts, and a plate compactor. What a load. Took a while to get through traffic, and when I got here, the A/C wasn’t working. Got that fixed. Details in yesterday’s comments. Then it was still hot and humid so I stayed in my air-conditioned house and read.

Today I’ve got two main goals, and a minor goal. I have to compact the crushed slag walkway. I would like to continue pressure washing the roof. And I have to cut and remove a limb that broke and is partially resting on the roof. There are many other things I can do too, mostly involving putting away and organizing all the stuff I’ve been bringing up here. The major projects are too involved to start most of them on a weekend when it’s only me here (and the dog) or they involve work in the attic which isn’t advisable in this heat.

There is a lot of stacking to do. And a lot of improving. I’ll get to some of it. Stack something of your own.

nick

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Fri. Aug. 15, 2025 – hi ho, hi ho, ho ho ho…

By on August 15th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Hot and humid, although a front moved by and brought some cooling – and some rain in parts of town. I’m guessing we’ll get more hot and humid for a while yet, with occasional thunderstorms.

I did get stuff done yesterday. Did some pickups. Mostly stuff for the BOL and another solar panel. Talked with my auctioneer about bringing in more stuff to sell. He put me off into next week. Which really pushes into the week after, since I’ll be busy getting ready for my hobby thing.

Today I’ll be loading the truck for my quick trip to the BOL. I’ve got stuff to finish there this weekend and the girls have a GS thing scheduled. I’ll do a pickup or two on the way. I’ve got some domestic bliss to take care of here first, and some other stuff that I need to do too. I will take the dog with me, so I won’t have the luxury of just working straight through for hours at a time. That can be a blessing in disguise I guess.

It’ll be working to improve my situation, and not as much stacking, but it’ll keep me busy.

I’ve got a feeling I’ll be busy for a while. Stack something, it’s easier.

nick

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Thur. Aug. 14, 2025 – yah think?

By on August 14th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

More hot and more humid. Quantity and quality. We did get some clouds yesterday, with the occasional drop or two hitting the windshield, depending on where you were in town. We even had thunder and lightning in the late evening. The east coast may even get a hurricane in a few days. Good times, right?

I did some of what I needed to do. One pickup. Contact with two potential buyers for the stuff I’ve got on craigslist. Some time at my buddy’s shop. Figured out why there was no power– 5 dunning notices, culminating in disconnection were sitting at the bottom of the mailbox. I guess I’ll be getting an account set up myself.

Kids’ first day of school went well. They both have friends in classes and they can eat together at lunch. D2 has math in the same class as D1’s bestie. Kid is up two grades in math, since elementary school, and she’s keeping up. She’s got a lot on her schedule with band, theater, and debate…

Today I’ll be doing two more pickups on the other side of town, and making a run past my secondary location. I’ve also got some office stuff to do, and some more domestic bliss. And it’s kid taxi day too.

It’s all good. Still leaves time for stacking.

Which everyone should be doing, right?

nick

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