Tag: shortage

June 4, 2025 – What Am I Missing?

June 4, 2025 /

It has has been quite a while since Covid began and a whole new normal. I can’t ever remember a time pre-Covid that I could not buy something that I knew existed and wanted to purchase. I should qualify firearms and ammunition shortages of 2010 an 2014 excluded. We got through toilet paper, electrical boxes, Romex and plywood. Maybe I am reading more into things than I should but I am finding former common items that I have not seen on the store shelves in months.

Eighteen gallon compactor bags, Head and Shoulders Intensive treatment and Theraflu (specifically the night time formula). I have been able to find the bags and shampoo on Amazon but the Theraflu is another story. Just when things are getting crazy, we are all getting sick.

It could be the whims of the market. How many people have trash compactors anyway? Ours is a relic from the days when we had to supply our own garbage can. But, as time goes on, I am sure those installed in the 1990s are slowly giving up the ghost. I have jerry rigged a new handle to accommodate the broken plastic handle and we have to hold the door in to make sure the switch contact is maintained.

This all started happening about a year and a half ago. I keep checking each time at my local stores to see if it is really true and it appears that it is. The same is true with my shampoo. Head and Shoulders Intensive Treatment is the only that works for me and I have tried everything.

One bottle lasts about a year for me. Being a pantry guy, I buy a replacement when I open a bottle. In theory, I have about a year until I truly have to replace it. I did find it at the discount supermarket which means that I don’t know if that means it truly is on it’s way out or that people are not looking for it there yet. This is another one that I can currently buy on Amazon.

As luck would have it, we are sick in this house. I have never found any cold medicine to be effective. But, I will take the night time formula to knock myself out. I find that to be the only therapy that actually helps. I could honestly not give a rip about daytime cold formulas. In fact, when I was trying to research Theraflu, I ran across multiple articles that stated the active decongestant ingredients was called phenyl-ephedrine was recalled in 2013.

Every since the powers that be severely limited pseudoephedrine, they may have moved it behind the counter? I have no idea since we are now down to one pharmacy with bankers hours. But this is one of those things that is not readily available on Amazon. While it can be purchased via the marketplace, it is not an in-stock item.

The last time I went to look for Theraflu, I found that it was out at most stores. I attributed it to it being the sick season (February). As I continuously do my loops for compactor bags, I found it at the grocery store as ‘discontinued’. For this reason, I wasn’t surprised that I haven’t been able to find it in the stores.

I think that is actually abhorrent that we are so dependent on China for critical materials. The fact that we cannot produce our own medicines and defense components is really inexcusable. Only a critically arrogant people would give up sovereignty and self-reliance for cheaper prices.

Or maybe, this isn’t some sort of supply chain fubar but a regulatory whim. I think that RFK really does have our best interest at heart. For way too long the robber barons in the medical industry have been defining health. Maybe (probably) Theraflu is not good for me. I guess I don’t know because my research was inconclusive as to why I cannot find it on the store shelves.

Theraflu is not the only product out there. In fact, we have night time cold medicine pills that also work. It is more for my non-pill taking children that anybody. But, a good hot cup of something also helps relieve some pain as well. I like the variety.

End Your Programming Routine: The new world is a world that possibly whatever you want is no longer available, for whatever reason. It’s too bad because these are the things that work for me. I’m sure we will make due as they are not necessities and maybe they will come back but something is up. I don’t know what it is exactly, but be prepared for more of this.

March 31, 2021 – The Move From Winter to Spring

March 31, 2021 /

Spring started 11 days ago. I can’t say with certainty that we are moving to a new season. The more I look, the more I am surprised that we seeing long term supply chain disruptions. I attribute it to both the ice storm and the pandemic reactions. The following are items that I have recently had trouble with.

  • Propane and propane accessories (couldn’t resist)
  • Firearms, ammunition and reloading components
  • Bicycles and bicycle parts
  • Electrical components like wire, breakers, gang boxes, wire clamps, etc
  • Recreational vehicles, including boats

The first four categories I have been looking for in the last couple of weeks. I have talked a lot about the first two, now I am surprised to learn of new categories.

With school going back into session, it was time to get the bike situation sorted out. If you own a cheap bicycle and you ride it a lot there is a common problem. The slot to hold the crank arm into the bearing cassette will deform with constant pedaling. The crank arms are made of a softer aluminum and this is probably the fourth time we have needed to make this repair. Left unrepaired, the crank will eventually become unusable and typically fall off.

In a similar vein, looking for a bicycle for my other son. It turns out that bikes and bike parts are unavailable. I went to three different local shops and they all said that they had 300-1000 bikes on back order with about a year’s worth of lead time. Parts had no ETA. The store owners said that with the shutdown of gyms, people bought bikes in record numbers. We were able to make the repair with a used part.

I don’t know what is going on with electrical items, but I went to three box stores and two hardware stores to get new work gang boxes. In addition I have been having problems finding all electrical items as I start work on my new office. I heard from one source that PVC was in short supply and that it was effecting not just work boxes but also paint. I heard from another source that some electrical components have been out of stock since last summer.

I was also shocked to see the price of sheet goods. Last year, a $14 sheet of 7/16 OSB is now $40. 3/4″ plywood is not $67 a sheet, I would say at least double from last year.

I went ahead and started my plants despite the fact that I haven’t built the beds like I stated earlier. I think that I have a place to put them in the front yard anyway, at least a small garden. There is some question as to whether that would be a good decision depending on whether we are staying at this current house. If I don’t start them, then I won’t have the plants come planting time, so I did it anyway. I can give them away if I want to.

The question remains, are we moving into a new season or is this the new normal? Has our economic climate shifted such that shortages are a fact of life? Has our economic climate shifted such that we are still in the winter of the pandemic? Winter is nature’s rest for new growth, at least in temperate climates. There is no doubt that future impacts will result from this experience, I am not totally sure what they will be at this point. I don’t think we are in spring yet.