   | | Discussion involving leisure activities: books, travel, hobbies, sports, Internet fun and more. Please read Msg #1 before posting. |
| Msg #38116
5 replies | I just got my | By SC/CA on 4/2/26 6:14pm
lipid-panel results, and they’re lookin’ good!! :-)
I’ve gone up, way up, on the good stuff- HDL, and brought the triglycerides, LDL and other meanies to well within normal (they were just borderline before). I went from being on the “watch list” for “having a talk” about statins to having and an “excellent” LDL/HDL ratio. Whoo- hooo! Heart attacks and strokes are big in my family (even with thin, healthy, fit folks) so I’m keeping an eagle eye on things.
What may have increased the HDL count are nuts, which I’ve increased substantially just because I like them. That could also explain why I’ve gained a bit of weight. But I’m still well within normal there too.
So within the last few years, I’ve gotten rid of acid reflux/hiatal hernia, gerd, IBS, high blood pressure, borderline high cholesterol, and extra pounds.
My sister is fit (walks 4 miles/day), works full-time in the medical field, has tons of stamina, but has many of the markers I used to have. Her diet isn’t unhealthy by any means, mostly whole foods, but it is meat heavy. She’s eyeballing my results, but it would mean a lifestyle change.
I was fortunate to have a doctor, about six years ago, who said she looks at “lifestyle first, then at medications.” And I told her that I was completely on board with her approach. She really steered me in the right direction (like DASH diet for high blood pressure, I’m looking at you- sodium), and it’s been well worth it.
The cholesterol was my last marker that I wanted to resolve, so today feels a bit like graduation day. I know that good health is on-going, especially as I age, but I’m on the right track and it feels good.
Janet, you said I’d get the last marker down, and you were right!! :-) And Bear, you’re my mentor extraordinaire!!
I’m giving myself a smiley-faced sticker. LOL. Go plant-based eating, moving, and less vino (for starters)!!
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| Msg #38092
5 replies | Got the garden in | By Bear900/CA on 3/25/26 12:44am
And boy are we sore. I dug down 18" the entire row where I wanted my tomatoes. They haven't done well in a couple of years so I wanted to fill with Kellog's Organic. I didn't make any compost this year.
I came across a number of thick roots so had to chop and dig those out. I have no trees nearby except over the fence. Roots will travel a long way for water and nutrition. Quite a number of large white grubs too, larvae of June Bugs. They eat roots and hibernate deep in the soil during Winter for two to three years. Right about now they get closer to the surface to eat plant roots. We fed a bunch to our blue jays and they had a ball.
We planted tomatoes, bell peppers and Jalapeño pepper seedlings. From Winter garden planting we have some nice kale, garlic, cilantro, celery and a few lettuce heads. Also a winter gopher which I caught today!
By seed we planted carrots, bunch onions, corn, squash, cucumbers and Bok choy.
Have some nice looking parsley that came up wild and Swiss chard too. Go figure.
Weather has been bouncing all over the place but mostly warm and mild, perfect for the garden. New plants took right off in the new soil. Glad I got the gopher. I know there's another one out there.
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| Msg #38088
11 replies | There’s a new-to-me movement in my area, | By SC/CA on 3/23/26 12:17pm
fueled by local volunteers, whose mission is to fix things for free, for the general public. It’s probably been going on for a while, but I just never heard about it. If you have something similar in your area, I highly recommend it!
The general rule of thumb is that if it’s small enough to carry to the repair clinic, they will try to fix it.
In two visits, I brought in a shirt that needed mending and two lamps. I plan on bringing more! Like my bike, a computer, jeans, a mirror, and a CD player.
I asked one of the computer techs if they could fix the broken video cable and hinge on my old Lenova Yoga and install Linux, and they said sure. I just bring the parts. Fantastic! After reading Bear’s tech journeys (most appreciated, Bear!!), I thought Linux might be worth a try. I’ll let you know how it goes with the computer repair.
The whole concept is great for spring cleaning - use it, loose it, or repair it ! :-) Keep stuff out of the landfill, curb waste, and use your old stuff. I love my “new” lamp and shirt! :-) And I look forward to more repairs.
Here’s a fix-it link that I was referred to as well. At first glance, the website looks really cool.
http://www.ifixit.com/
Happy Spring!
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| Msg #38086
11 replies | Fuel (or fool) prices | By Bear900/CA on 3/21/26 11:16pm
Diesel at my local station just went up from $6.99 yesterday to $7.99 today.
Sign on the pump said to pay with cash, credit, or leave an organ...
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| | Msg #38075
6 replies | Great news! I am back! | By  Cheryl Elliott on 3/9/26 10:58am
My PT sessions have been reduced to 1x per week, and soon will be every other week. I am in my 13th week since shoulder replacement surgery and I'm feeling great. It happened real fast too. I went to a party Saturday night in my community and we talked about what works and what doesn't. One of my neighbors, younger, a retired college football coach has had many surgeries to knees, hips and back. He is in constant pain. He will be my first convert to what makes inflammation disappear and stay gone, which is a major reason for the pain.
Great to be back in the fold, plus not having to go to so many doctors' appointments and PT sessions.
Phew! So pleased, nothing worse that not wanting to do much around here.
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| | Msg #38070
2 replies | Solo Mio with Kevin James a very funny | By Cheryl Elliott on 2/19/26 2:17pm
and entertaining movie. Most of us remember him in sitcom King of Hearts, I believe. Very heart warming, and I love Andre Boccelli. Great must see! Jonathan Roumie, who starred as Jesus in THE CHOSEN, plays an outstanding part as well.
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| | | Msg #38057
2 replies | Storms churning through the mid- to eastern US... | By JanetK_CA on 1/24/26 1:15pm
Sounds like it's going to be a doozy rolling through, followed quickly by another one, with lots of snow and potentially dangerous ice... I hope any of you in places impacted are taking necessary precautions - and staying safe and warm!
Sending good wishes to you all! Please let us know how you fare...
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| | Msg #38051
1 replies | Linux Journey; learn Linux step-by-step | By Bear900/CA on 1/22/26 9:24am
If you're curious:
This link was given to me by my computer friend who installed Linux for me. I had previously read a lot of the same information scattered all over the web. Was hard to grasp that way.
I like how this breaks it down in easy steps to follow and understand. First heading is: Grasshopper
http://labex.io/linuxjourney
Getting started.
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| Msg #38045
5 replies | Good evening! | By Mihawk/NY on 1/20/26 11:20pm
I wish you all the best on Notary Rotary™ , My grandma used to use this forum and she introduced to me recently. It is very hopeful that this forum is still alive today. Thank you for keeping it alive!
- Mike Hawk
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| Msg #38037
12 replies | The cost of a shoulder surgery is staggering. | By Cheryl Elliott on 1/19/26 12:56am
My insurance company sent me a 21-page itemized statement for my shoulder surgery on December 10 and 4-day stay in a private room at a local hospital. I will be having physical therapy for several weeks, and that is costing $750 a day, twice a week.
$175k to-date. I would have preferred a trip around the world!
Vowing to slow up a little.
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| | | Msg #38023
9 replies | Anyone watching silver? | By Bear900/CA on 1/15/26 9:50pm
Spot price today is $91 and climbing. Some are predicting much higher.
Lot of interesting things going on and I think it's all of them combined.
Any thoughts on this?
Keep your Mercury dimes...
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| Msg #38014
7 replies | Linux OS is now on my new Lenovo | By Bear900/CA on 1/12/26 11:14pm
I finally got with my friend and he happily and easily installed Linux for me. I appreciated him asking me questions on what I wanted to do with it so he could have a clear picture.
This was after dinner and we and our wives were all visiting when he asked me to just bring the laptop to the table. He explained what he was doing and asked me questions along the way so he could ser up what I envisioned.
We ended up with a really polished install and it was fairly quick. I wanted Linux Mint, Cinnamon which is great for Linux beginners used to Windows.
The download came with LibreOffice (word and excel lookalikes) and Thunderbird email client. I will probably add Proton email.
I haven't had time to play with it but will keep you posted.
This video describes what we did. Notice there were 8 GB RAM allocated since it is its own operating system. I have 32 GB so we allocated 16 GB RAM. You can adjust RAM up and down easily.
http://youtu.be/fxfvFMa3V4M?si=y5zOkWmLFv-lxR88
More on the installation next post.
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