Mon. Sept. 8, 2025 – a new week, same old list

By on September 8th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Rain yesterday. Maybe rain today? The nice thing was it lowered the temperature and cleared out some of the crazy humidity. Not so nice was interfering with my plans. I guess it’s just too bad for me. It would help me for it to be cool and not raining today though.

I got nothing done on my list yesterday. Even though I was up early, all I did was nap, read, and watch some auctions close. Gah. The list gets longer, and I’m not making progress.

I’ll work on that today. I have a couple of things I can pickup, and a long list of things to do, but little actual motivation. And that is my real problem. Malaise. Ennui. Depression? Dunno. It’s mild, whatever it is, but it does drag a bit. Work and progress should help with that though, and be good in their own right.

I’ll try to make some progress, if you try too.

n

(I’m stacking anyway, if much slower than two years ago.)

Read the comments: 55 Comments

Sun. Sept. 7, 2025 – more time to work

By on September 7th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

It’ll be coolish to start and get very humid later. Because that’s the pattern. SO very humid. Just standing around yesterday I was soaked with sweat. It was tolerable when I sat out by the fountain at night with a breeze.

I did get some stuff done Saturday. My fuses finally came in, so after my pickup, I replaced the fuses at the shop. Finally I have light everywhere and the A/C in the office area works. I unloaded the shelves I’d picked up and left the A/C running so that it should be cool enough to get some work done there today.

Which is the plan. Head over there with a load of stuff to be sold, and get some organizing done. That’s a lot easier when sweat isn’t dripping off your eyelashes. Some domestic bliss probably needs to happen too. Like lawn mowing. And cleaning some stuff up. And maybe tuck pointing the flagstone front walk…

Unless it rains.

But there are things on the list to do if it rains too.

Stack. Work. Improve.

nick

Read the comments: 45 Comments

Sat. Sept. 6, 2025 – Saturday. Huh.

By on September 6th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool to start, stifling to finish. I have to say that sitting out in the heat watching the football game made me think I felt feverish. I just wasn’t comfortable, and this despite being pretty comfortable all day. Sure the sun was hot, but it usually is. I didn’t even want to sit out and have a tiny little fire last night. Today will be like that too, in all likelihood.

I got some stuff done, mostly pickups. I was tired. Not really motivated. And when I got back home, I stayed home even though I had a couple of hours I could have used. The parts I ordered didn’t get here, and I couldn’t face the shop with 90F+ temps. I’m weak.

Today though, it’ll be different! Yeah, maybe not so much. I’ve got a pickup between noon and three, but otherwise I’ll be working my list. I’m caught up on the internet, and with my auctions, so I’m out of excuses. If the fuses come in, I’ll head to the shop for at least a little while. If not, I’ll work here.

There’s no shortage of work to do.

Or things to stack, people to meet, or skills to learn. Get busy!

nick

Read the comments: 64 Comments

Fri. Sept. 5, 2025 – so long first week of September… you were short

By on September 5th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool, then warming. Humid and stifling when the breeze stops and sun like a laser beam… or was that yesterday? Why yes, it was. Later in the day was actually nasty while it started ok. I’m going with more of the same for today. Nice orange moon though.

Well, like most weeks, I did do two pickups yesterday. One was some general stuff for the BOL, one was a pump for the irrigation system at the BOL. The current pump seems to work, but it WAS underwater for a week when the lake flooded. That can’t have been good for it. Usually the pumps in the auctions are returns fraud, someone buys a new pump and returns their old rusty POS for a refund. This one was in the box, with the shipping covers in place on the inlet and outlet.

Today I’ve got two pickups, on opposite sides of town. One is a couple of freeze dried meals. I didn’t look closely and it turns out they are not even worth $1 each to me. But I bid, so I’ll pick up the two lots I won. I can combine that part of the trip and grab another pickup nearby. Then it’s off to the north side of town and three invoices at one seller. It’s the seller who was going to pack it in, but decided to keep trying. He’s still not making much money in the auctions, but he’s pulling out good items and selling them elsewhere. Reselling as a business is NOT as easy as people think it is.

D2 has a football game to march in tonight, so I’ll try to make that as well. Where has this week gone? Starting a day late sure shortens the week.

Some parts I needed came in too, so I can do more work at the shop, which will help me work on getting a bunch of stuff out of here and sold. Baby steps. But still steps mostly moving forward.

Always be working. Always be stacking.

nick

Read the comments: 84 Comments

Thur. Sept. 4, 2025 – time keeps on slippin’ into the future…

By on September 4th, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool to start, hot later, and damp the whole time. Like yesterday. Extra damp, with actual moisture from the sky in the afternoon. That’s what we got, and what we’ll probably get again.

I did manage to solve my client’s issues yesterday, and fairly expeditiously at that. Two cable issues, one dead input port, and some changes to control programming, along with some network work and the troubleshooting effort, so just like old times… kinda satisfying actually to have clear problems and clean fixes.

Didn’t get a whole lot else done though. Office stuff mostly, some small bits of domestic bliss. Cut my hair. Looks good to me. No one else seems to notice. Cut an inch off my beard. Ah, the life of excitement and intrigue.

Today I will probably do pickups. I won a new irrigation pump for the BOL and a couple of small things. Pumps are $350-450 so picking one up cheap makes sense. Most of the auction lots I was outbid, but not by much. Prices are down, or there is a lack of bidders. Time to consolidate what I have.

And stack that stuff high!

Like all y’all, right?

nick

Read the comments: 49 Comments

Wed. Sept. 3, 2025 – mid week already

By on September 3rd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Slightly cooler. Slightly less moist? Might be. Yesterday was fairly nice but did get hot in the afternoon. I expect more of the same today. Small changes over the next few weeks until suddenly it’s Fall again.

I got a few things done. Nothing like the list I’d hoped to do. Picked up stuff, mostly for the BOL, and dropped it at the shop. Amazing how quickly a space can fill up with the contents of two storage units, some stuff from a third, and stuff from home. I really need to get the fuse for the electrical service, and get the A/C running so I can spend some time organizing and getting rid of stuff over there.

But that’s for future me. Today I’ll do some office stuff- I’ve got a bunch of mail to send, and then head to my client’s house. I’ll remote in and see if I can see anything wrong, but I’m betting I need eyes on the problem. Sometimes it’s much faster and easier to look in person.

Then I’ll do some of that list here… if I can. It gets longer every day, and my motivation flags. I’ve got y’all to keep me honest though.

Stack, fix, improve, and do what’s needful.

nick

Read the comments: 57 Comments

Tues. Sept. 2, 2025 – back to it..

By on September 2nd, 2025 in culture, decline and fall

Cool and wet. It was 75F and dripping when I went to bed last night. Houston got rain. The BOL did not. It was mid 90sF in the evening, without any breeze, and with the sun drilling holes in my head. It would be nice if today stayed a bit cooler. I’m not going to hold my breath though.

Spent the day doing stuff. Mostly outdoor work. Cut my lawn and the HOA lot next door. That’s my civic duty for the month. Did some other small things on the list, but mostly it was the outdoor stuff. Found some time to read in between, and I did sleep in. I guess that counts as a vacation?

Back to work this week though. Either today or tomorrow I will do a service call for my last client. He’s having issues that sound like network/IP address issues. Joy. I’ve got stuff to sell, stack, and sort here too. Got confirmation that I’m checked out of my storage unit. Now I need to go through the pile of stuff and make it a smaller pile.

There is always more to do. But that’s the gig and I can deal with it. Time to make some money with all that stuff I bought to sell.

Money is a prep. Stacks are preps. Stacks of money are a super prep!

nick

Read the comments: 54 Comments

Mon. Sept. 1, 2025 – Labor Day, US

By on September 1st, 2025 in open thread

Cooler, but wet. Rained yesterday and may rain again today. If not, the humidity is high and everything is dripping anyway. Parts of Houston even flooded, and some of the highway on the way up here was wet enough that cars were throwing up rooster tails.

It ended up actually being a ‘day of rest’ for me. Other than the drive up, I napped, ate, and read.

I don’t know what I’ll get done today, or when I’ll call it quits and head home. With the extra kid and using the minivan instead of my pickup, IDK how we’ll split up for the ride home. I may not be able to stay later, even if I have stuff to do. At least most of the yard doesn’t need mowing. The lack of rain and cutting it too short KEPT it short.

I did get to review my attempts at re-grading and reworking the road in the HOA lot and the boat ramp. I got one area a bit wrong and water isn’t quite flowing where I’d like. I think it can be corrected with a tractor and a box blade though, so that’s good. I will see if I can get one of the other guys to make the change.

I got some elevation wrong in my front yard too, and it’s not draining as well as I’d hoped. That will be a bit harder to fix. The easiest thing for now is to dig little trenches to drain the low spot, which I did.

There is always more to do. And more stuff to stack. I better get busy and do some of it.

nick

Read the comments: 40 Comments

Sun. Aug. 31, 2025 – finally headed to the BOL

By on August 31st, 2025 in culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Hot and wet. Or slightly cooler and wet. We got rained on late in the day yesterday, but it came down in buckets. Rained at the BOL too. I think today will be clear, but the humidity will probably be high. It was 78F when I went to bed.

I spent Saturday moving out of one 5 x 10 storage unit. And shuttling the kid around. I had a surprising amount of stuff in the unit, despite it having been burgled twice. I’ve got my next couple of weeks to go through it and sort it. Some I can sell on ebay. Some will go to my local auction, and I think some will just go in the dumpster. Lots of books to add to my library too.

Today we’re headed to the BOL to join my wife. I’m hoping for nice weather. I need it to be dry enough to mow… and W wants to run the boat. I’m taking a load of stuff, but not as much as most times. Two weekends in a row, and a serious reduction in auction purchases means there is only a little pile to go up this time.

Improving the BOL is a long term prep, and it takes a lot of time, money, and energy. But it’s worth doing. Even if it means stacking twice as much…

nick

Read the comments: 20 Comments

Sat. Aug. 30, 2025 – More of the same, and hot too!

By on August 30th, 2025 in biology, culture, decline and fall, lakehouse

Hot again, and humid again. Yesterday was mostly hot and humid, and only a little cooler when the sun was hidden. Then a front blew in and temps dropped for a while. Came back with a vengance after the front moved through though.

I did mostly auction stuff, but also some business stuff in the morning. Then did pickups, and started moving one of my storage units. That ate the day.

Today I’ll keep working on moving out of that unit. It’s the end of the month, so it’s the right time.

Sometime tonight, D1 will go to her first concert without us. She’s going with friends, and the dad will sit and wait for them at the venue. Baby is growing up. I was going to concerts with friends at that age, without any parents involved, and sometimes after being told no… It’s different time, so easing into it is appropriate.

Then Sunday we’ll head up to the BOL to meet W for a day and a half before we return home. The fledglings are trying their wings. I’m watching for hawks…

And stacking of course.
nick

Read the comments: 56 Comments