Gut & Illness

Guts and illness

Perhaps a new thing to check out that may be curtailed due to funding issues.

People with chronic fatigue syndrome may have imbalances in their gut bacteria, a new study suggests.

The researchers then checked to see if these imbalances also characterized the subset of patients in the study who had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), an intestinal disorder that is common in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. [Read more about the chronic fatigue syndrome.]

Gee Whiz

Time flies and I just realized I had not written in any blogs for quite a while.  I have been quite active since my last tax comments.

A friend and real estate agent wanted an instrument that was much smaller than the one I made for him a few years ago:  It is a device that displays whatever pictures or video’s that are in two folders up on a TV via HDMI.  The Raspberry Pi 3 project is pretty much done and I am watching the video and several pictures rotate merrily along for the last couple of days. It went blank when it should last night and came on this morning. Yea.  I was a bit worried because the Raspberry Pi does not have a real time clock and it relies on the nptd daemon to go out on the internet and retrieve the time.  So far that is working but if the internet connection goes off so will the time.  I suppose with a little more effort I could add a RTC but since this is essentially Pro Bono I guess I will not.

On second thought, I wonder if I could sell some of these?  Then it might be worth it to spend more time making it more bullet proof.  Of course it is an order of magnitude smaller than the ultra small form factor computer I used before.  Should last forever but if it does fail someone even slightly informed of tools of the trade could fix it.  So that was my big project of the week.  Now, on to the next one.

Last night was the Gideons Pastor Appreciation Banquet.  The whole deal went smoothly and it was the best one I have attended.  This year we had a buffet table instead of the usual served meal and it went much faster and was more predictable.  After that were a few songs and 4 short quick speeches lasting about a half hour.  There was a shameless plug for the Gideon Card program.  I use this often but basically you go online, select a card, fill in the recipient name and the address where you want the card to go.  Then you select the number of bibles you want the Gideon’s to hand out in your name.  The final phase is the payment for the bibles at $5 each.  This can be done via normal credit.debit cards and I think they have added Paypal this year.

I listened to the Little Red Barn Net this morning on 3820 SSB LSB and made a few comments.  I have been trying to get in all week but the Ionosphere has not been cooperating.  Anyway, I got in today and spoke long enough for the whole week in one session. The LRBN is in honor of Bob Sievers who worked at radio station WOWO 1190AM.  Almost anyone in the USA could get WOWO at some point in the day or night.  The power output was a whopping 50,000 watts.  Anyway, that is enough for tody and I have lots to do.  Moore later, Cheers.

Road Taxes: Big user pays big

The Indiana General Assembly recently passed House Enrolled Act 1002, which provides a long-term, sustainable funding plan for building and maintaining Indiana’s transportation infrastructure. The plan focuses on a user-pays approach, dedicating all of the taxes paid at the pump to road funding. This is the fairest system since those who pay the most will also get the most benefit. When fully phased in, HEA 1002 will provide $1.2 billion per year in new road funding – about $850 million for state highways and about $350 million for local roads. Under this plan, the average Hoosier driver will pay an additional $5 to $6 per month, which includes a 10-cent gas tax increase beginning in 2017, with a maximum one-cent-per-year increase thereafter for the next six years, and a $15 annual BMV registration fee. The plan also includes a “fair share” fee for vehicles that currently pay little or no fuel taxes. Electric vehicles will have an annual fee of $150 and hybrid vehicles will have an annual fee of $50. With these funds, Indiana can complete current and future projects while maintaining our roads and bridges for the next 20 years.

Back Home Again in Indiana: Yesterday

We arrived back in Indiana at 0600 hrs after an all nighter trip from Sebring.  We left at 1100 hrs Wednesday and fiddled around Sebring for a while and then headed up US-27 N to the Florida turnpike and from there straight up I-75 all the way to US-30 Fort Wayne.  The trip back was better than the one going down for some reason and the 1200 miles clicked down to 0 pretty much on schedule. We did stop for about half an hour to eat lunch/dinner at SteaknShake:  Both Dale and I like SnS.  Abby was there to great me but was barking suspiciously.  A few laters she was overjoyed, spinning and making her special good to see you noises.  By then SAM was up to great me as well.  I pretty much crashed for a couple of hours and had breakfast and then crashed again for about an hour.  SAM and I had a few things to do for the rest of the day and then it was off to a full nights sleep.  One of the things accomplished was finishing my windchime in C4 cord.

Today I was in the Technical Room by 0900, having eaten breakfast first, and stayed there until almost 1100 hrs talking on the radios and tackling my next project. I put the windchime outside but the wind was so low and out of the wrong direction to make much music.  I did not bother with lunch today but had a smoothy about 1600 hrs.  I spent the afternoon dismantling my old TV & sound system to hook it up to the TV I repaired.  That is when I found out the repaired TV did not have and analog audio output: It has only SPDIF.  With SAM’s permission, I will move the 42″ TV from upstairs and swap it with the repaired TV.  The old 42″ TV from upstairs will become the basis of the new media room since I have moved out to the Technical Room.  We also setup the AC for the upcoming season but this is no big deal at all.

Now, as I write this blog, I am busily trying to plan tomorrow’s move of the TV’s.  There is more to this than meets the eye since there is the media Center to move plus the security cctv as well.  I do not know what the evening will bring but I hope it involves some supper so moore later.  Guess which one I am in this old photo!

Grassy Lake Inn & Suites

Last night I slept great.  I had exhaustion and two benedryl on my side however.  Anyway, I slept more than 10 hours so I felt decent today.  I have been walking over to Dale’s place for exercise and while doing this looked for the places for sale. There are quite a few and turnover is high but the prices are cheap.  The owner appears to be not too customer oriented and kicks out a lot of people.  I found one place that might be appealing but have not heard the price yet.

Today, I pulled in my cards and told Dale I would like to go to Indiantown, FL.  He said sure and we drove over there to see some people I know from online conversations: Matt & Jessica.  Matt was there when I arrived unannounced and was pretty gracious about talking with me for about an half hour.  Dale and I then drove the 1.25 hour trip back to Lake Placid.  For me it was worth the trip but Dale got little out of it except a few minutes sleep.  I found out it is expensive to store on the hard there.  About $600 per month and that is more than twice the price of  Green Cove Springs – Wow!

Tonight we ate at American Legion and I had fish, corn and mashed potatoes.  It was pretty good and I was a little surprised.  I am blogging right now and doing a few kill time routines.  I do not relish the trip home tomorrow as it is a 24 hour marathon and would much prefer staying halfway.  I will include a picture I took today looking out my hotel back porch.  Moore later.

Good Friday & Sunny Saturday

Yesterday was Good Friday and I spent the day puttering around the house but mostly in the Technical Room.  As is usual, most of the morning was spent reading emails, of which 90% are junk, and listening and participating in “The Little Red Barn Net” on 3820 MHz. This takes until about 1030-1100 hrs.  Valuable research time was spent looking at Facebook, reading the 20 or so new emails and reviewing Youtube subscriptions ( I subscribe to 10± sailing, lock and technical subjects).  By afternoon, I tackle the more difficult projects so it was the power supply for a Phillips 32″ LCD TV.  I replaced 8-10 Electrolytic Capacitors and plugged this bad boy in and bingo, it worked again.  I have not checked all functions but had to re-program the TV Controller to check major functions: AOK.  Now what?  Good Friday we went to evening service at FCC in Fremont.  A pretty lively event with lots of singing and Communion but we were home by 2030 hrs and watched the remainder of “Approaching the Unknown” and then SAM watched La La Land ( not my cup of tea).

This morning I checked the recall notice for the Inspiration II dehumidifier we bought last Spring but it was not on the recall list so that issue is done with. I am not sure what to do with this dehumidifier since the other one is working well.  Perhaps the Technical Room?  The day has started warm at about 60 with a falling barometer and SW winds at 12 mph with a forecast of rain for Easter Sunday.  Not a nice day for planned driving.  It is 1044hrs so that is it for the morning and Karon should be arriving soon to cut my shaggy mop – BFN.

T day + 2

The second day after tax day SAM spent putting stuff away and later in the afternoon went into Angola to do a little yard work for an elderly lady and to do a little shopping.  I was left at my own devices so I went up on the roof and cleared some twigs off it and to install another larger line on the Amateur Radio 80 meter antenna.  If you recall the antenna is conneced to the west vent pipe and when the wind blows it sings to us.  SAM got tired of this so I am trying to figure out a way to dampen this oscillation out.  The lead counter weights worked pretty well but I decided to try another approach.  The second way to dampen it out was to install a larger
and softer line from the vent pipe to the insulator on the antenna.  I wrapped it around the existing line a few times to insure good  contact and then tightened it up just to the point of relieving stress on the bow tight smaller wire.  My guess is that it will work well but only time and different wind conditions will tell. More on this later.

Having some more time on my hands I cut the copper pipe for the C4 chord wind chimes. I also cut the wooden top plate for the chimes out of 1″ Oak that has been laying around the shop for decades.  I got to use the new circle cutter I just bought from Harbor Freight: Boy did it smoke as the cutter was friction cutting the hole and I had to stop several times to let the smoke clear out of the garage.  Anyway, all I have to do is cut out the striker.  I think I will use a saw tooth hole cutter on it.  However, I do not have the hole cutter so up to Menards I will go tomorrow.  Also, I need some 30# fishing line to string the chimes and some thinner material for the sail.  I think that line will last out in the sun well.

Tonight we watched Arrival upstairs and SAM is watching Lion while I write this Blog.  I think that is it for tonight so Moore later.

T-Day + 1

Ok, this is the first day after the dreaded Tax Day.  Our whole purpose in returning to Indiana early was to do the taxes before the deadline for the first time in several years.  This was accomplished yesterday and was slightly more traumatic than the “normal” year.  We were missing several elements for determining the initial buy price of stocks dating back to the 1990’s.  However, Bob figured it out and our 2 hour tax party finished without too much frustration. The only downside was the $$$$ going out.  To this I say “Thank you President Bush and BOO to Indiana”and this endes this topic.

Today we had a meeting uptown and went from this to the Chinese Buffet for a lunch and then back to home for a nap.  My sister came over and we had a chat with her and my B-I-L about their Florida winter but after a short while they had to leave to take the RV to the dealer to get some things fixed – they seem to have as much problems with it as our boats :).  Now, I am doen in the Technical Room watching youtubes and trying to return  a defective product I ordered from China.  I did spend some time trying to add some features to Kodi and that seemed to go OK.  Now I am writing this and that finishes the day. Moore later.

Tristate Steuben County Airport

Many of you reading this blog will know I have long been associated with KANQ.  I learned to fly in 1967 at Tristate and have been active at the airport every since.  I am an ASMEL with Instrument rating, taildragger certified and aerobatic trained.  Over the last 50 years I have amassed 4000± flight hours as PIC and about 500 of these are flying a Cessna 310R.  What fun it has been.  In 1969, I bought my first airplane, a Taylorcraft BC12D, and promptly joined the Experimental Aircraft Association and was a member of EAA Chapter 2 in Fort Wayne. I have a relatively low EAA number in the 50K range and they are now over a million or so.  How things have changed.  If I have sufficient time I will write of these tales here.

Talking about KANQ, I am posting an event in June that looks like it will be a lot of fun.  This is the purpose of this blogline and not about myself, so here it is.

Indiana: Winter Thursday

Wow, whata difference a couple of days make!  It rained most of the pre-dawn hours and through the daybreak and on into the morning.  This is the report I gave to the Amateur Radio “Little Red Barn Net” on 3.820 MHz LSB:

1. Rain 1.2″
2. No Snow
3. Wind 7 mph from NE
4. Barometer 997.7 mb (29.46″)
5. 35°F

Some of you might remember that the Little Red Barn was on radio station WOWO 1190AM.  This station was one of the 10 or so 50,000 watt AM radio station and was a commercial station with emergency communication use when necessary. The LRB was aimed at the rural population of the USA and hosted many farm related broadcasts and some music and audio serials such as The Shadow, Dick Tracy and many others.

The afternoon brought some rain and snow and high winds of 45 mph gusts.  I spent most of the afternoon in the “Shack” but before that SAM and I went to Angola for lunch at Suttons.  We split a Italian sub of custom meats and cheeses.  After lunch we went to Rural King to look at wind chimes so I could get some ideas for the ones I intend to make.  The first one will be cut for C4 Chord with 5 chimes:  C, E, G, B flat , D.

Into the evening I looked at a movie called Arrival on Kodi Media Center that I made from a Raspberry Pi 3.  The movie was over hyped I thought and I was a little disappointed but maybe it was too deep for me to comprehend:  Being a technical type it could be I am not sensitive enough to grasp the deeper meaning.  Anyway, I have wanted to watch it for a few months and finall had the time and bandwidth to do it.