This Little Guy Dares You Not To Fall In Love With Him…

Reblog

Kitten Academy

Live stream

https://youtu.be/YPv9yKC76hE?rel=0

theed's avatarTHE EDITOR'S JOURNAL

…So I’m minding my own business surfing on the net when I came across something very special.

It contained tiny balls of fur falling about, rolling, standing in their food, wrassling and scuttling everywhere… I started watching and as time was ticking by I resized the page and stuck it in the right hand corner of the desktop 27 incher…so I could (conceivably) carry on working…that seems like weeks or months ago now…and I’m still watching!

My new addiction is called Kitten Academy. A 24 hour live streaming of a cat foster home where you can watch kittens get born and grow into fine young kitten men and women and ‘graduate’ from the Academy once adopted.
Trust me when I say no description can do it justice. You have to go there for yourself and have your tiny hearts broken by these blessed creatures.

Tell them The…

View original post 70 more words

Shipping Container

News, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, ,

House

 

I am watching the series Grand Designs on NETFLIX. The County Derry 2014 episode is about a “young farmer and architect in Northern Ireland [who] hopes to make a home out of four large shipping containers welded together to form a giant cross.”

Note: in the YouTube video I found (below) the audio is a bit sped up and the image is reversed left to right … but you get the idea. (Yes, yes, I know that that the Irish and the Brits drive on the “other side” of the road from us Yanks, but that is NOT the reason that the image is reversed)

 

If you like architecture and love gorgeous homes you should try to catch this series!

 

For more images of Patrick Bradley’s Shipping Container House CLICK HERE

The Womack House

Food, History, Music, Stuff

The Womack House restaurant was incorporated in 1981 on FM* 1093 east of Fulshear TX, a few months before the Mrs and I moved to Katy TX from Colorado fresh out of college. It was famous for “family style country food” and we ate there often when our kids were little.

Our first son was born in 1983. Coincidentally “Pancho and Lefty” by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson debuted the same year. The song was still popular several years later and I bought the cassette of the album. “Pancho and Lefty” was one of my first son’s favorite songs. The Womack House had a lounge (bar) and at the time a country-western singer named Clell Conner was a fixture. After dinner we would often retire to the lounge and Clell would play “Pancho and Lefty” for us.


From the Houston Chronicle …

“It was located in an old house with a big front porch with several porch swings,” according to Linda Linn .

And April Andres says she once spied Nolan Ryan dining there.

Bonnie Meyer, a former employee, remembers serving “huge platters of chicken-fried steak, catfish, meatloaf, chicken and dumplings and all kinds of fresh vegetables.

When she worked there, she says, “the (waitresses) had to wear old-fashioned floor-length peasant-style dresses, and we would often sit on the swings outside waiting for our first customers to arrive.

“We kind of looked like the girls on the Chicken Ranch in La Grange!” she adds.

According to Chronicle archives, Womack House closed in 1994.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

I remember they had little galvanized pails of warmed saltine crackers.

Today I had lunch with an old friend at a Chinese restaurant in a new subdivision near Fulshear. All of this new construction sort of snuck up on me over the years. Roads that I remember as dirt roads out in the country are now four lane boulevards with large tree-filled medians. On a whim, I decided to drive out to Fulshear and see if I could find The Womack House. 



It is now a day care facility, but it is still there (complete with porch swings).

Memories …

 
* FM in Texas stands for Farm to Market road 

References 

http://m.chron.com/entertainment/article/Womack-House-1647309.php

https://www.corporationwiki.com/Texas/Fulshear/the-womacks-house-restaurant-inc/31942959.aspx

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00535/rice-00535.html

DVD Episode 139 Jan. 16, 1982: Landmark Inn, Castroville / H Graham-Clocks, Marble Falls / J Wilson-Antique Guns, Pyote / Clell Conner-Cowboy Singer, Liberty / Spradley-Telephones, McGregor

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_and_Lefty

 

PS “Pancho and Lefty” is a current staple on the Mrs playlist today. She has both the Merle and Willie version as well as a couple of Townes Van Zandt versions.

 

PPS At one point we had a vinyl album (33 1/3) of Clell Conner’s music that we bought from him at The Womack House. If I can find it, I will address in a future post.

Orkney 

Economic Issues, News, Social Issues, Technology, Video, , , , , , , , ,

FIRST https://contrafactual.com/2017/03/01/islands-of-the-future/

THEN https://contrafactual.com/2017/03/01/islands-of-the-future-madiera/

NOW – Orkney

If you have you have access to NETFLIX watch Islands of the Future 

http://www.emec.org.uk/

http://www.emec.org.uk/about-us/wave-clients/pelamis-wave-power/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelamis_Wave_Energy_Converter

Sadly, Pelamis Wave Power is defunct

https://youtu.be/CQpX8JUTBMM?rel=0

https://www.genewsroom.com/press-releases/ge-completes-acquisition-alstom-power-and-grid-businesses-282159

https://youtu.be/om7TooANmJI?rel=0

 

https://www.gerenewableenergy.com/innovative-solutions/tidal-energy/oceade-tidal-turbine-platform.html

 


Islands of the Future

Economic Issues, News, Social Issues, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, , , , , ,

Currently watching this series on Netflix. Just finished watching El Hierro. Gives me hope for the future.

If you have NETFLIX – watch it. 

Clicking on either image below should launch NETFLIX – Islands of the Future.

Also check out the YouTube clips below.



 

EL Hierro

 

A picture …

Food, Health, News, Stuff, ,

is worth – as they say.

I previously told you I had lost 40+ pounds and was below 300 for the first time in I don’t know when. I think I also told you that I had replaced my size 56″ jeans with 52″ and then 48″.

You may also recall that I have been out of work since last March when I got laid off in the oil patch down-turn. I thought my savings would last longer than they did. I have started aggressively looking for work, but nothing so far. 

This brings up the question of interview clothing – can’t wear jeans. What about my old work khakis?



Not quite halfway there – but it is an impressive start when viewed above.

A Blast (off) From My Past

About, History, Space Travel, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, , ,

The image below is a screen capture from one the videos in the previous post on today’s SpaceX CRS-10 launch. 


Life comes full circle. In a much earlier post I described what it was like to be standing at the water’s edge in the foreground at the last ever Saturn V launch.

    The Saturn V F1 engines were the most powerful rocket engines ever made. Each one produced over 1.5 million pounds of thrust. The five F1 engines on the Saturn V made it the most powerful launch vehicle ever at over 7.6 million pounds of thrust. Just over forty years ago on May 14, 1973 [almost 44 years as of this writing], I was lucky enough to be among the press and dignitaries sitting on the bleachers or standing in front of the turning basin at the Launch Complex 39 Press Site for the last ever Saturn V launch. I was 19 years old. My best friend’s aunt was a professional photographer. She got each of us a press pass for the launch of the Skylab space station. For a teenage space fan, who had watched every manned launch since Alan Shepard’s first suborbital Mercury launch, this was truly “dying and going to heaven”. For several days before the launch we got to go on exclusive tours of the launch site. We were able to see Walter Cronkite’s broadcast booth. NASA loaded us up with press packets and thick tomes of specifications. I can not begin to tell you how totally cool this was.


On launch day I was one of the throng of people standing to the left of the countdown clock in the picture above.

    I was just three miles away from the launch pad. When the engines fired up, the sound of the F1 engines was felt as much as heard. The low base rumbling seemed to reach directly into my chest and vibrate my heart and lungs [dare I say it was nearly orgasmic?]. As the Saturn V rose into the sky, I could smell the burned kerosene of the exhaust as I felt the waves of warm air wafting over me. 
    This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The SpaceX image inspired me to search the Internet and YouTube for Skylab launch images. I scored big time. The second image is screen shot from the video below. Back in the day I had a fetish for white jeans (probably expressing my inner John Lennon). Trust me – I am in there somewhere.

Full video from 1973

https://youtu.be/JzCXYd2v3xE?rel=0

https://youtu.be/JzCXYd2v3xE

 
The Internet is amazing. Welcome to the future.

 

Links

Apollo 11 Main Engines Found

Second time is the charm

History, Mars, News, Science, Space Travel, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, , , , , , , ,

SpaceX successfully launches CRS-10 from LC-39A | Falcon 9 first stage lands at LZ-1 

Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Airforce Station

 

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A, the southern most of the two most northerly pads) with SpaceX modifications 


 


Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1 formerly LC-13 midway down ICBM road )


LC-39A launch

 

Aerial view of LZ-1 landing

 

Full coverage with some SpaceX provided historical clips

 
Links

Aerial snapshots from Apple Maps (TOMTOM)

Welcome to the Future – the revolution will be Tweeted 



299 and falling

Blogging, Health, News, ,

Today marks a milestone. I finally fell through 300 pounds to hit my first goal of 299. Last December I registered 336 on my Aria (Fitbit) scale when I “officially” began my weight loss quest. 

I just checked with my doctor whose office told me that the lowest weight they had for me was 315 (fully clothed) back in 2011. I also show that I weighed 345 last April.

Today I was at 296+

My next goal is 286 … 10 pounds down from here and 50 pounds down from last December.

Wish me luck.

 

 

Goldmoney Q3 Results

Economic Issues, finance, gold, News, Technology, , , , , , ,

TORONTO – (February 2, 2017) – Goldmoney Inc. (TSX:XAU) (the “Company”), a financial technology company and operator of a global gold-based financial network, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Selected Highlights

  • More than 1.35 million user signups with $1.7 billion in customer assets as at December 31, 2016.
  • Added the Royal Canadian Mint’s secure precious metal storage facility in Ottawa as a vault on the Goldmoney Network, and entered into an agreement with the Mint to explore future co-marketing activities that aim to boost awareness and accessibility of precious metals.
  • Completed the Schiff Gold Acquisition and entered into a Marketing and Service Agreement with Peter Schiff; results reflect 47 days of Schiff Gold operations.
  • Launched the new Goldmoney App for iOS and Android.
  • Entered the lending space with the launch of the Goldmoney Maximizer tool, which enables verified Canadian Goldmoney Network users to borrow select currencies against up to 85% of their fully-reserved gold assets.
  • Extend P2P transfer capabilities to Goldmoney Network users residing in the U.S and registered a U.S. subsidiary with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
  • Reduced Goldmoney Network fees by 50%, enabling users to deposit, redeem, and make vault-to-vault gold transfers for 0.5% above the spot gold price.
  • Doubled user referral rewards for the Goldmoney Personal Golden Heart™ Program
  • Introduced a connection between Goldmoney Network and Wealth that enables Wealth clients to fund their Holdings with gold balances stored in their Goldmoney Network accounts.
  • Extended peer-to-peer transfers to 49 U.S. states, enabling verified Network users in the U.S. to send and receive gold transfers to and from verified Goldmoney Network users worldwide (excluding residents of the U.S. state of Vermont).
  • Announced Goldmoney Network accounts and Wealth Holdings had been endorsed as Shariah-compliant by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Amanie Advisors, which issued the fatwa in accordance with the Shariah Standard on Gold set by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and developed in cooperation with the World Gold Council.
  • Launched additional payment integrations allowing for direct-to-bank redemptions and credit card processing in Indian rupee for Goldmoney Network.

 Click HERE for the complete report

 

View the Real Time Audit


https://www.goldmoney.com/newsroom/investor-relations

 
Learn more and signup using the special URL   https://Goldmoney.com/r/niKIos   to earn a bonus of 5% additional gold on your first deposit (up to a maximum of 0.5 grams of bonus gold) if you make that deposit within 7 days of signing up.  Please note that wire transfer deposits are not eligible for the first deposit bonus.

 

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

Film, Food, Health, News, Science, Video, , , ,

When I brought my Prius into Toyota last week, my service writer and I got into a discussion of diet, and health, and weight loss. I told him about the Wahls Protocol and our need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. He asked me if I had ever see Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. “Oh, man, you have got to watch this,” he told me while pulling it up on his computer. “Unfortunately,” he warned me, “it has become an infomercial for the Breville Juicer and Joe Cross’s Reboot Program.” My only comment way was that juicing removed all the fiber, while acknowledging that physically eating all the fruits and vegetables recommended by the Wahls Protocol was daunting.

I stopped by Toyota today for a status update and learned that the battery pack was still in shipment, due to arrive this week. I also decided that before I saw my service writer again that I was going to watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. I watched it on NETFLIX. When I began researching it for this blog post, I found the full version on YouTube (below). It is absolutely worth watching.

https://youtu.be/i_MxCKKIgJI?rel=0

Keep in mind the whereas the movie focuses on juicing, the most important takeaway should be that we need to shift our diets away from fast foods and processed foods toward diets rich in a broad spectrum of fruits and vegetables. Personally, I am impressed by the weight loss depicted in the movie. It gives me hope.

Juice Plus+

Food, Health, News, Russia, Science, Technology, Video, , ,

In a previous post, The Next Best Thing, I told you how I found out about Juice Plus+.

    Fast forward to the fall of 2016 (last year). Our diet was poor once again – too much dining out and too much takeout. We had both gained weight and were not feeling our best. While having a late breakfast at the cafe nearest to my house, I eavesdropped on a conversation between several ladies sitting next to me. The topic had turned to the tribulations of dealing with a cancer diagnosis in a loved one. As I got up to leave, I stopped by and offered my support and best wishes. They asked me about my point of reference and I explained that my wife had MS and the road had been a rocky one. One of the ladies asked me what if anything we had done to deal with it other than the doctors, medicines, and hospitalizations. I went on to tell them about the Wahls Protocol, how we benefited from a diet high in fruits and vegetables, our difficulty in actually being able to eat as much as we needed, and our eventual return to our old unhealthy diet and way of life.

    One of the ladies asked me if I had ever heard of Juice Plus+.

I answered that hadn’t. She gave me her business card and some brochures. I studied the list of fruits and vegetables that Juice Plus+ Orchard, Garden and Vineyard Blends are comprised of and realized that it was everything I had been striving to eat enough of. I have included the nutrition labels below (tap on each to enlarge).

Orchard Blend

 
Garden Blend


 

Vineyard Blend



Note the NSF certification label. I did. Check them out HERE. Also note the Kosher certifications.

Long story short, I placed an order. The Mrs and I have been taking the Orchard, Garden and Vineyard Blends for a few months now as part a healthier diet and lifestyle. I like the ability to get a wide spectrum of fruit and vegetable micronutrients and oxidants in a convenient capsule form (they also offer chewable versions). With Juice Plus+ we actually manage to eat the fruits and vegetables we do buy. 

I am the original sceptic. I live by the old Russian axiom adopted by Reagan in dealing with Gorbachev – trust, but verify – so I did some additional research. The efficacy of Juice Plus+ has been documented in more than 30 Juice Plus+ research studies conducted in leading hospitals and universities around the world. But that is for another post.

For now, in the spirit of a (moving) picture is worth a thousand words, I give you three short videos.

How Juice Plus+ is Made

Published on Dec 31, 2013 | Juice Plus+ Vice President, John Blair, shares how Juice Plus+ is made. From being picked at the peak of ripeness to the proprietary drying and encapsulation process. See it all! 

 

Behind the Scenes at a Juice Plus+ Farm

Published on Oct 28, 2014 | Take a look at what happens when we’re filming footage at one of our beautiful farms.

 

Juice Plus+ Farm to Capsule

Published on Apr 23, 2014 | Hear Meredith Martin, Juice Plus+ Director of Marketing Support, and Liza Pepple, Juice Plus+ Director of Supply Chain, talk parsley. Then stick around to hear Juice Plus+ growers share how they ensure good, quality produce goes into all Juice Plus+ products.

 

Interested in learning even more about Juice Plus+? Look HERE

Prius 13 Update

Economic Issues, Electric Vehicles, Humor, News, Rant, Science, Stuff, Technology, Welcome to the Future, , ,

Previously on Prius 13

    “I warned you not to stir the oxygen tanks,” my service writer replied.

    Houston, we have a problem.

    I noticed one of my warnings lights was on as I drove through the parking lot. No wait. ALL OF MY WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON. The main console was lit up like a Christmas tree. I pulled into a parking space and rebooted the car (aka turning it off and on). All of the warning lights stayed on and the primary notification window alternated between “CHECK PCS SYSTEM” and “CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM”.

    My Prius had gone Apollo 13 on me.

    With my luck, it’s the AE-35 Unit.

 It wasn’t the AE-35 Unit.

It was the Flux Capacitor … or the financial equivalent thereof.

 = = =

Thursday was a busy day at CatBeard Manor. The Mrs was back from the hospital but still wheelchair-bound. A plumber was out, reaming a decades-old clog from our plumbing to allow the upstairs toilet to flush without filling up the tub. A cable technician was out for the nth time troubleshooting my abysmal Internet performance. And finally, the first wave of physical therapy had arrived to evaluate the Mrs. So I was calling Toyota every hour or so trying to get an update on the Prius. No joy.

Late in the afternoon, after everyone had left my house, I decided to drive over to Toyota and talk in-person to my service writer. I drove the rental car to the front, parked, got out, and got a free cup of coffee in the lobby before stalking my service writer.

I walked up behind him and said “you’re a very difficult guy to get a hold of.”

“It’s been a goat rodeo here,” he replied.

“I came by to get some free coffee and while I was here decided to stop by and find out what was up with my Prius.”

I got a smile. “Let me go in the back and find out what’s going on.”

He was gone a long time.

When he came back he was carrying two sheets of paper. The first sheet of paper was a printout, the first line of which had HYBRID BATTERY with a bunch of Xs after it in various columns indicating various failed tests. The second sheet was blank save for handwritten numbers indicating cost of the part, tax, and labor. The total was $5600 or so.

$5600 Deep breath. Did I mention that I have been out of work since last February? I got laid off following my 15 year anniversary award with a major oil field services company. “Yeah I was afraid it would be this.” The discussion then went on to how I had read that the cost had come down and/or that individual battery cells could be replaced. Maybe, but not through Toyota. “Is there anyway this might be covered under warranty?” I asked. “Let’s find out,” he replies.

Typing ensues. Screens pop up on his monitor. He pulls out a little book and starts leafing through it. This goes on for what seems like an eternity. Then he reaches over to the sheet with $5600 handwritten on it, crumples it up with one hand, and tosses it in the trash. Now I am staring at a screen showing the warranty status of various subsystems for my car. Each them shows that it is out of warranty – EXCEPT for the HYBRID BATTERY. It is warranteed to 100,000 miles. My car has less than 100,000 miles on it.

“So,” I ask tentatively, “it’s under warranty?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I want to kiss you.”

“Let’s not.”

“Agreed.”

He had some more paperwork to do, so I walked over to get more free coffee. Then I went to the car rental desk and requested a printout of the contract on the car had I rented the day before. I intended to try to get Toyota to comp me for the rental car, since it was warranty work. When I got back to the service desk, my service writer was way ahead of me. “You have a rental car, yes? We’ll cover that.” He called over to rental desk and made it so.

As I left, I shot him a thumbs-up. “Free replacement battery pack. Free rental car. Free coffee. Can’t beat that.”

He smiled. “Especially the free coffee. It may not be good, but it’s free.”

Commercial Crew Update

News, Science, Space Travel, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, , , , , ,

Originally published on Jan 16, 2017 | NASA Commentator Kyle Herring talks with Kathy Lueders, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, about the status of efforts to develop commercial space vehicles to deliver human crew members to the International Space Station. NASA is working with Boeing and SpaceX as those companies work through milestones to get their vehicles, Boeing’s CST-100 and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, ready for their first crewed flights to the station, while the space station program is reconfiguring the station and preparing for spacewalks to install the new International Docking Adapters to which the new commercial spacecraft will dock.

Although YouTube states that the above video was published this month, I suspect that it was actually recorded two years ago in mid-June 2015. Reason being that reference was made in the video (@6:20) of the upcoming launch of the International Docking Adapter (IDA-1). However IDA-1 was lost during the launch failure of SpX CRS-7 on June 28, 2015.  (Reference https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Docking_Adapter)

Additionally the Crew Dragon Pad Abort occurred in May of 2015.

Boeing Blue

Fashion, History, News, Science, Space Travel, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, ,

Elon Musk and SpaceX aren’t the only ones with their “eyes on the prize” of replacing the Shuttle for commercial U.S manned space launches. Boeing has unveiled a new streamlined light-weight space suit for it astronauts to wear aboard its CST-100 “Space Taxi”.

See also my post Bras In Space, the story of the Apollo spacesuit

Compare and contrast the Boeing CST-100 to the SpaceX Crew Dragon (aka Dragon V2)

1/26/17 Mom writes: Kicking RA’s Butt!!

Reblog

This is good news …

maggie0019's avatarmaggiesblog0019

Hi, it’s Liz. Maggie has been kind enough to lend me her blog so I can post about my RA journey so far.

First, though, I need to tell you how much my physical activity had fallen off.

3 years ago, I was a Tae Kwon Do student, active with a personal trainer at the gym, and went horseback riding and bike riding with Jamie whenever we could.

A little at a time, I noticed it at the gym first, my ability to do the exercises diminished. Also, I had a sharp increase of pain in Tae Kwon Do. Sitting on horseback became impossible – much less mounting the horse in the first place. The bike was out of the question due to hip pain. Eventually I had to stop all these activities. Soon, I could not sit, sleep, or walk properly because of pain. The pain in my left…

View original post 531 more words

Fruits and Vegetables

Food, Health, Science, Technology, Video, , , ,

In a previous post I told you about Terry Wahls and the Wahls Protocol. Below is a 19 minute interview of Dr. Terry Wahls by Dr. Rhonda Patrick from 2014. In the interview they discuss the importance of micronutrients and antioxidants in the diet and the importance of eating a broad range of fruits and vegetables and the impact it had on Dr. Wahls life.

 

Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Consider Juice Plus+

Prius 13

Economic Issues, Electric Vehicles, Humor, News, Rant, Science, Stuff, Technology, Welcome to the Future,

“I warned you not to stir the oxygen tanks,” my service writer replied.

Houston, we have a problem.

It has not been a good week at CatBeard Manor. Last Thursday the Mrs lost feeling, then function in her left leg. It was effectively “dead”. It had been bothering her for a while prior to this. (MS? Leg? Spine? MS? Leg? Spine?) She immediately called her neurologist, but it rolled over to voicemail. I broke out the wheelchair which we use from time to time when the Mrs feels particularly exhausted. Feeling and function returned over the weekend. I put away the wheelchair and broke out the walker. By Sunday evening she was “free walking” once again, unaided.

On Monday her left leg began acting up again. That afternoon I was out running errands when she called to say that the neurologist had called. “Go directly to the ER to be admitted to hospital for tests. Do not pass GO! Do not collect $200.” It was after 4 PM. I went home and collected the Mrs, the wheelchair, and several bags of supplies. We knew the drill. By the time they put her in an “observation” room they had run X-rays and a CAT scan of her head to rule out stroke, blood tests, and ultra-sound of her leg to rule out a blood clot. It was 2 AM Tuesday when she got to her room. I went home exhausted and got little sleep.

On Tuesday afternoon they scheduled her for cranial, cervical, and lumbar MRI (head, neck, back). She finished these up at 5 PM. I stayed until 10 PM, then left for home. Unable to fall asleep, I had a second mostly sleepless night.

When I got to the hospital today (Wednesday), I got the diagnosis that she had torn ligaments in her back from previous falls and probable degenerative disk disease causing irritation of nerves to her leg (a visit to the neurosurgeon who worked on my back several years ago would likely be in our future). They were sending her home with instructions to rest and a home health physical therapist would be set up to visit. She was scheduled to be discharged late in the afternoon.

I decided to run out and get some lunch. It was just before 2 PM. I walked out to parking lot, got into our 2010 Prius, and drove off. I noticed one of my warnings lights was on as I drove through the parking lot. No wait. ALL OF MY WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON. The main console was lit up like a Christmas tree. I pulled into a parking space and rebooted the car (aka turning it off and on). All of the warning lights stayed on and the primary notification window alternated between “CHECK PCS SYSTEM” and “CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM”.

My Prius had gone Apollo 13 on me.

I drove straight to my nearby Toyota dealer, waited to get my favorite service writer and told him my Prius had gone Apollo 13. “I warned you not to stir the oxygen tanks,” he replied. They would not even be able to begin troubleshooting on it until tomorrow. With my luck, it’s the AE-35 Unit.

Anyway, I went over to the rental counter and while waiting I got a call from the Mrs informing me that she was being discharged. I arrived in time in the rental car to pick her up at front door (an aid brought her down in her wheelchair with all of our gear).

Tomorrow is another day.

The Next Best Thing

Food, Health, News, Science, Technology, Video, ,

Those of you who have followed this blog long enough know that my wife has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis since being diagnosed in the late 90s. It is the reason why the heroine of my serialized sci-fi novel The Nudist War (a new take on the Zombie Apocalypse) has MS.

In the spring of 2014, I posted about my discovery of the Wahls Protocol. The Wahls Protocol, like many other “paleo” diets was not unique. It was but the latest in a long line of “discoveries” that we are what we eat and that diets rich in fruits and vegetables, low in carbs, sugar, and processed foods go a long way toward preserving and even restoring health.

I documented our progress on the Wahls Protocol and have included links below. Go ahead and read them. Most are short. I’ll wait. I promise.

Wahls Protocol

WP0

WP4

WP7

WP11

WP14

WP41

WP – 6 months

Good. You’re back.

If you read through each of the posts above, you saw how profound an impact a diet high in fruits and vegetables had on our health. If you didn’t bother to read through the posts above … I will summarize: we both saw a dramatic improvement in our quality of life.

HOWEVER – we both found it physically challenging to actually eat the amount of fruits and vegetables – and – drink the amount of water required. Not to mention that a diet that high in fruits and vegetables elevates the term “regularity” to a whole new meaning. By 2015 we had “fallen off the wagon”.

Fast forward to the fall of 2016 (last year). Our diet was poor once again – too much dining out and too much takeout. We had both gained weight and were not feeling our best. While having a late breakfast at the cafe nearest to my house, I eavesdropped on a conversation between several ladies sitting next to me. The topic had turned to the tribulations of dealing with a cancer diagnosis in a loved one. As I got up to leave, I stopped by and offered my support and best wishes. They asked me about my point of reference and I explained that my wife had MS and the road had been a rocky one. One of the ladies asked me what if anything we had done to deal with it other than the doctors, medicines, and hospitalizations. I went on to tell them about the Wahls Protocol, how we benefited from a diet high in fruits and vegetables, our difficulty in actually being able to eat as much as we needed, and our eventual return to our old unhealthy diet and way of life.

One of the ladies asked me if I had ever heard of Juice Plus+.

 

Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables?

 

Goldmoney Inc. is now Shariah-Compliant

Economic Issues, gold, News, , , ,

As you may know, I have long been a proponent of the use of gold as money (see previous post for example). I have also been a proponent of Goldmoney Inc. (formerly BitGold) as the most cost effective way to save in gold. From a global perspective the announcement below is big news for Goldmoney Inc.

For more see https://www.goldmoney.com/newsroom/news-and-blog/goldmoney-inc-announces-compliance-with-shariah-standard-on-gold

 


For more see https://www.goldmoney.com/shariah-compliant

 

Goldmoney also provides a Real Time Audit of its holdings at https://www.goldmoney.com/newsroom/real-time-audit

HEADSPACE

Health, Science, Video, ,

Andy Puddicombe

My sister introduced me to this a while back. I downloaded the app and tried it a few times – then gave up. I started back up again last week. Over the weekend we (my wife and I) discovered that we had the audio book. My sister must have gifted it to me sometime in the past. We listened to it. I recommend you do the same. Andy is amazing. His approach to mindfulness is refreshingly modern, yet based on centuries old proven concepts of meditation.

I am already beginning to have a calmer mind after my 10-minutes-a-day sessions. My wife used Andy’s sleep meditation technique last night and got her first full night’s sleep in three days.

The Audio Book


Get it at Audible.com

 

Get the App

 

Be sure to visit the HEADSPACE website


 

I will leave you with one last video.

 

Learn more about Andy here.

 

Make Money Great Again

Reblog

Please reblog this

cb's avatarContrafactual

Sign the petition at https://www.mmga.org/

A petition to be presented to President Donald Trump to sign an Executive Order that allows a choice in currency consistent with the spirit and intent of the Constitution. https://www.mmga.org/#choice

THE PETITION

We The People request the new administration Make Money Great Again; that gold and silver may freely be used as money alongside United States dollars.

The Constitution explicitly recognizes gold and silver as money. We therefore petition that:

  1. All tax discrimination against gold and silver must cease, including the removal of all capital gains tax on holdings of, and transactions in gold and silver, and;
  2. That all impediments to using gold and silver as constitutionally-recognized money be removed.

We Petition the Administration to sign this Executive Order to Make Money Great Again.

The full text of the proposed executive order is below and HERE(PDF) …


Sign the petition at https://www.mmga.org/

View original post

Make Money Great Again

Economic Issues, gold, News, , , , ,

Sign the petition at https://www.mmga.org/

A petition to be presented to President Donald Trump to sign an Executive Order that allows a choice in currency consistent with the spirit and intent of the Constitution. https://www.mmga.org/#choice

THE PETITION

We The People request the new administration Make Money Great Again; that gold and silver may freely be used as money alongside United States dollars.

The Constitution explicitly recognizes gold and silver as money. We therefore petition that:

  1. All tax discrimination against gold and silver must cease, including the removal of all capital gains tax on holdings of, and transactions in gold and silver, and;
  2. That all impediments to using gold and silver as constitutionally-recognized money be removed.

We Petition the Administration to sign this Executive Order to Make Money Great Again.

 

The full text of the proposed executive order is below and HERE (PDF) …


Sign the petition at https://www.mmga.org/

1/17/17 The “Mischief With Maggie” Series has launched!

Reblog

Get your copy here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520399847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484682048&sr=8-3&keywords=Mischief+With+Maggie

and

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCWDUSU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484682048&sr=8-2&keywords=Mischief+With+Maggie

maggie0019's avatarmaggiesblog0019

Dear Readers,

Maggie and I have been quiet a while. We have been busily reworking our previous manuscript. I am proud and pleased to announce that the first book in the “Mischief With Maggie” series is published in both ebook (Kindle) format and paperback. They are available at Amazon.com.

510yfBsth+L._SX384_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

The paperback edition is available for $4.00 US. This book is not illustrated because the photos I had were not high res enough for the software. A disappointment, but nonetheless, I humbly offer it to you.

This is the picture you will see for the ebook:

frontcover.jpg

The ebook sells for $1.50 US.

This first story outlines the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of adopting not just a shelter dog, but the longest-term resident of the shelter, and a dog classified as a “Pit bull” to boot.

Thank you to my WP family for all your support. It has been a very long time coming…

View original post 25 more words

The SEVENTY2

Economic Issues, Food, News, Review, Social Issues, Stuff, Technology, Video, Welcome to the Future, Zombies, ,

Just ran across this on INDIEGOGO. Looked interesting. You might agree.

95% of survival situations are resolved in 72 hours. But those first 72 hours are extremely critical. With this in mind, our kits are carefully curated to provide you everything you need, and nothing you don’t to get through those vital 3 days. We aren’t weighing you down with things you will never use, and we don’t sell you things that aren’t going to help. Just the essentials, organized so even the most inexperienced among us will have the tools and instructions to change their situation for the better. https://unchartedsupplyco.com/company/our-story


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-seventy2-the-world-s-smartest-survival-kit-backpack#/

https://www.unchartedsupplyco.com/

CHEMEX | “I wonder …”

Stuff, Tableware, Technology, , ,

“I wonder …” a question one should never ask if one has access to the Internet.

Recall from my previous post that I finally bought a length of leather thong to refurbish my CHEMEX. Today “I wonder …” crossed my mind.

From the CHEMEX website

http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/accessories/wood-collar-tie-2.html

I do not know what the shipping cost would be.

The irony is that the cost of new wood collar + wooden bead + leather tie direct from CHEMEX is about what I paid for the leather thong at the craft store. 

Perhaps in the future I will upgrade. It is nice to know that I can.

CHEMEX | Restored

Food, Stuff, Tableware, Technology, Video,

Not long ago I posted that I had been gifted a vintage CHEMEX coffee carafe. After taking it apart and cleaning it, I foolishly attempted to recondition the leather thong that holds the wooden insulators together by soaking it in leather conditioner. When I tried to put it back together today the old thong disintegrated. 

So I did what I should have just done in the first place. I drove to a nearby craft store and bought a length of new leather thong. The CHEMEX is now assembled. Filter paper had previously arrived from Amazon. A bag of whole bean “Christmas Blend” was obtained from the new Starbucks that opened up around the corner.

I followed the ritual as described below

Quite satisfactory … and satisfying.