Buying forest land, implementing solar

[swbluto]

So the aflatoxins in peanuts up the lifetime risk of liver cancer by 1/35,000 you say? Well, compared to the increased risk of cancer by 7% for each serving of alcohol, and considering that red wine and peanuts both have a antimicrobial affect (Don't know how they compare), I think that's a rather acceptable tradeoff. Eat your lycopene and green leafy nitrates if you want to prevent cancer.

It's interesting how well peanuts seem to sate my hunger. Maybe that's why snickers is so effective. It's the peanuts. I think these boogers must have the fat and minerals the body desires so much and that's why they taste so good and seem to satisfy hunger. The other nuts don't seem to be as effective at satisfying hunger, or so it seems. As much as people try to tell me other tree nuts are better because of the aflatoxins, the effectiveness of peanuts vs. the other nuts in tasting good and satisfying hunger is telling me another story.

Maybe it's the special blend of nutrients/minerals it has.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-peanuts-taste-so-good

Also, in addition to mere fat, peanuts have a pretty good nutrition profile in general. In particular, peanuts are one of the best sources of biotin, which has a range of potentially powerful health effects, as per (biotin) .

What is biotin?

https://draxe.com/biotin-benefits/

Biotin acts as a coenzyme in the body that’s needed for the metabolism of fatty acids, amino acids and glucose. This means that when we eat foods that are sources of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, vitamin B7 biotin must be present in order to convert and use these macronutrients for bodily energy, to carry out physical activities and for proper psychological functioning.

Biotin is also a nutrient that helps us keep a young, attractive appearance since it plays a major part in maintaining the health of our hair, nails and skin. In fact, biotin sometimes gets the nickname the “H” vitamin, which stems from the German words Haar and Haut that mean “hair and skin.” Vitamin B7 biotin is commonly added to hair and skin beauty products, although it’s believed to not be absorbed very well through the skin and actually must be ingested to be fully beneficial.

Oh, so the biotin in peanuts help the body utilize the fat in peanuts for energy. That sounds like a good thing, sounds like a way to promote low-microbial-activity non-carb energy intake. The fact it "makes you beautiful" is telling of its significance.

Just sitting here eating a pineapple and now my mouth is feeling tingly. So, I'm wondering if this tropical fruit is another one of those antimicrobial tropical wonders.

Appear it is!

http://naturalsociety.com/cough-try-pineapple-juice/

Pineapples contain copious amounts of vitamin C, manganese, and something known as bromelain, an enzyme that fights inflammation. Said to prevent unhealthy blood clots and improve digestion, bromelain works on a variety of fronts to encourage healing and discourage illness. It has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Together, these components can sooth a cough by calming the airways and fighting infection.

One study found that pineapple is actually more effective at quelling a cough than cough syrup—up to 5 times more effective.

A sugary carb source with a builtin antimicrobial. Sounds smart to me! I'm just willing to bet if you ate a whole pineapple and then had an equivalent amount of sugar in the form of some sugary milk and cereal, you'd find the blood pressure rise from a pineapple to be a /LOT/ less. I think I might just experiment with this hypothesis soon enough... maybe...

And, an actual research paper:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4229839/

Bromelain exerts an antibacterial effect against potent periodontal pathogens; hence, it may be used as an antibacterial agent. However, further trial has to be conducted to validate this result.

The amount of antimicrobial this and that in the tropics is ridiculuous. I'm guessing the cozy environment (Hot & moist) that the tropics provides for bacterial growth had put high population pressures on the plants there to develop antimicrobial features, and that's why it seems to be so common among the plants/fruits/beans/etc. originating there. And maybe that's why the people who consume the native diet of the tropics are so healthy/live-so-long.

Of course, missing from that picture are the parts of those superfoods that you may often discard, such as the skin of the kiwi and the hard core of the pineapple. But before you toss out these food parts, dietitians say, it’s time to reconsider what you’re cutting away. Many of these pared-off parts of fruits and veggies are positively brimming with antioxidants, and eating them can boost your health.

Wow, not me! I think peeling a kiwi is a pain in the ass, so I just eat the whole thing, and the center of a pineapple is freaking scrumptious. Has that oh-so-enjoyable meaty texture to it. And, uh oh, seeing that "antioxidant' hokum pokum. I'm assuming they mean... antibacterial.

So, pineapple /really/ is the missing ingredient to my tomato-rice meals. It doesn't just make it taste absolutely scrumptious, it keeps the bacteria at bay from fermenting the rice/tomato-sugars. (I've had a few suspicious reactions to rice/tomatos, so I think adding antibiotics might be in order. I've been avoiding the rice for now because I've been having suspicious reactions to it recently. I've been focusing on fruit for my carb sources in the meantime and I've so far have had no suspicious reactions to fruit.)

And... oh... when they say "anti-inflammatory", that's pretty much code word for antibacterial methinks. Because bacteria initiates the immune response causing inflammation, so hence bacteria=inflammation. Thus, Anti-inflammatory = anti-bacterial.

So continuing along that line, I wondered... is fish oil antibacterial? It's often described as an "antinflammatory" just as Omega-3 fatty acids are, like flaxseed oil.

Well... lookie here...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22150831

Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) bacteria are opportunistic pathogens that cause multiresistant pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). In this study, we evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of eight unsaturated fatty acids against Burkholderia cenocepacia K56-2, a CF epidemic strain. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was the most active compound. Its action can be either bacteriostatic or bactericidal, depending upon the concentration used.

DHA, that's the fatty acid that's thought to have the most health benefit according to the research (Reduce cardiovascular hazard, improved dementia, alzheimers, etc.) AND... according to this paper... it's also the most active against bacteria. Isn't that a coincidence?

What about flaxseed oil? (Another popular omega-3 often described as anti-inflammatory.)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20602175

Linum usitatissimum (linseed/flaxseed) fixed oil: antimicrobial activity and efficacy in bovine mastitis.

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the oil against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae and Escherichia coli was comparable to that of cefoperazone while the antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Micrococcus luteus and Candida albicans, was greater than that of cefoperazone.

What is this cefoperazone?

Cefoperazone is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic, marketed by Pfizer under the name Cefobid. It is one of few cephalosporin antibiotics effective in treating Pseudomonas bacterial infections which are otherwise resistant to these antibiotics

Cefoperazone has a broad spectrum of activity and has been used to target bacteria responsible for causing infections of the respiratory and urinary tract, skin, and the female genital tract. The following represents MIC susceptibility data for a few medically significant microorganisms.

So, you're telling me that flaxseed is as effective if not more effective than one of the most powerful antibiotics on the market? Yeah, ok, I think I've discovered flaxseed oils and, in general, "omega 3s" secrets. They're powerful antibiotic fatty acids, and that's probably the most important reason for their well documented health benefits. [Regular consumption of flaxseed oil substantially improves bloodflow rates. Would imply that the coagulase from staph aureus has a habit of slowing down the bloodflow... which makes sense if coagulase has a tendency to clot up the blood... hence the name (Based on the word 'coagulate').]

Boy, getting my business of national television and solving all of life's medical mysteries... man, I'm on a f/u/cking roll.

I'm starting to think that "God Complex" that I've exhibited from time to time has some basis in reality. :lol:

I'm thinking I might add some garlic and flaxseed to my garden, it'll be in the "antibacterial" section, lol [I'm definitely having a tropical section for the winter.].

And, you know what, that pineapple really seemed to wake me up. I'm not sure if it's the sugar or its strong antibiotic properties that woke me up. Or maybe it's some vitamin...? Seems hard to believe that 40 grams of sugar would keep me feeling this awake for this long. Then again, maybe not so hard to believe. I've had some 100 grams of carbs so far today.

So, anyway... I'm going to say it... that popularized notion of Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio is horse hockey. It's all about how frequently you consume omega 3s.

Which then leads me to the question if the omega 3s in pasture fed cow milk products also have an antibacterial affect? Well, I should probably find out what their fatty acids are exactly, the "omega 3" ones... I doubt too many people have looked at precisely the antimicrobial nature of pasture-fed cow milk products, lol. [But, I could be wrong; worth a gander]

Ok, not seeing a whole lot of research in this particular direction. Now, let's identify the omega 3 fatty acids in pasture fed cow milk.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/

A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef

Already seeing that hokum pokum word again... I'm starting to think it's another one of those 'code words' for antibacterial, just like 'anti-inflammatory'....

According to a table(Table 2), it appears that these omega-3 fatty acids are in higher quantities in grass fad cow milk products.

Linolenic C
20:5n-3 EPA
C22:5n-3 DPA
C22:6n-3 DHA

Now let's research every one of these.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0116519

Linolenic acid fights against H. Pylori, a cause of peptic ulcers.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/119029777

Linolenic strong against the biggest baddy of them all, staph aureus.

Having difficulty discriminating out the Environment Protection Agency pages...

Ok, here's one:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643807000060

The EPA exhibited antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19166, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, S. aureus KCTC 1916 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 2004}

Oh look, it's staph aureus again!

DPA(dipicolinic acid antibacterial); no obvious antibacterial properties or at least little to no research I could find.

DHA - the fish oil fatty acid. It's the one that's already been demonstrated as antimicrobial higher up in the post.

So, 3 of the 4 omega-3 fatty acids in pasture fed cow milk and it's products (Cheese, yogurt, etc.) are antibacterial against staphylococcus aureus and a bunch of others. So, yes, eating pasture fed cow cheese has an antimicrobial advantage over soy&corn fed cow cheese. As well, as I'm assuming, pasture fed cow milk though it has sugars... so I'm not certain how that balances out... It would seem likely that full fat pasture fed cow milk would likely not grow bacteria populations, and may even decrease existing ones.

It's interesting how 'eating as nature intended' seems to naturally provide an antibiotic strategy against the bad bacteria in this world, whereas, the modern processed diet(including bread), decidely does not. It almost seems like it's designed that way... or perhaps organisms evolved that way...

It's pretty interesting how much my bias against the 'skim milk', 'fat free' milk products and my exclusionary preference for pasture fed cow products has some sound basis in reality. I didn't know I was essentially rooting for the antimicrobial strategy... it just didn't seem that's the way cows and milk were naturally designed, so it was wrong.

So, it's obvious to me know that one shouldn't consume omega 3 for the purpose of achieving the ideal omega3mega6 ratio, but to seek out frequent consumption of it(Particularly with meals) because it's antimicrobial. I suppose, however, if Omega-6 might dilute the concentration of omega-3 in the diet, it might reduce the antibacterial effectiveness of the omega-3. So, perhaps the omega3mega6 ratio has some basis in reality (Though, I think omega3:everything-else-consumed is probably more pertinent), though it seems obvious to me it's more important to consume enough omega3 on a frequent enough basis as opposed to trying to achieve ideal ratios. (If both are achieved, there might be a bonus.)

So what have I discovered in this post? The antibacterial properties of omega-3s and it's connection to staph aureus's coagulase and increased bloodflow. That's pretty important, yes, that moves it from a 'myth' to a 'real' concept. (I've recently been buying the cheaper cheese for the last 2 weeks... so this research matters...)

You know, people have been asking me if I was going to get a cow, lol. I said nope, don't have enough land for that! lol. But if I did, it'd be a milking cow and it'd eat grass. And, I'd probably try my hand at cheese making. Looks like a cow needs 2 acres, guess maybe I should save up for a 5 acre lot, preferably already deforested and/or grassland. [I don't really want to remove the forests if there's usable land already out there. I'd rather preserve the forests, especially 5 acres worth.]

 

[swbluto]

Young adult hispanic male scout was riding by on his ATV recently. Uh oh, potential thief on the prowl. Or perhaps joyriding.

Yes, I think I'm going to make erecting a fence a high priority. Both to contain my dog/chickens and also to ward off the would-be thieves/chicken-eating-animals (Foxes seem to be common here according to my neighbor). And keeping out stray dogs. The vehicle doesn't have to be within the fenced in area, but it does need to be well secured at night.

For the 'tree protection', I think I'm going to erect a column of cement blocks on each of the 4 corners and then use some of the downed trees to bridge the top of the cement columns. These cement blocks will also be useful to hold my tarp which is to stop rain/hail from hitting my RV and also provide shade during the warmer parts of the year. This area has a little less humidity than houston proper, so shade is more effective at keeping things cool. I'm going with cement columns because it's cost-effective and also because it should be strong enough to not collapse under the weight of a falling tree (Or, at least should be capable of significantly slowing it down, thus significantly reducing damage. The idea is to not die from a falling tree, and best case, an intact RV. I'm doing this because I've seen a /lot/ of remnants of fallen trees in the forest, so there is a reasonably good chance of /eventually/ having a fallen tree on me.).

Need to get Raid or some Ant repellant and apply at the base of my wheels. Just saw a fire ant in here, oh no! First thing I'm getting tomorrow from the grocery store.

Oh man, tornados are already touching down in SE louisiana.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tornado-warnings-issued-louisiana-mississippi-175626459.html

I thought tornado season didn't start until march, I was hoping I had some time, lol. (I probably do, I have about 2 weeks after my next paycheck to get things arranged.)

I think for my tornado shelter, I might just get a large trashcan and bury it underground, lol (Making sure it's well sealed so little spiders can't get inside). I wish there was a good way to seal the lid so that it didn't fly off, guess I'll have to devise an ad hoc solution. I thought it'd be nice getting a 3 foot wide pipe or some such and stick it straight into the ground, but I think a large trashcan is much more easily obtainable.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Enviro-World-55-gal-Red-Recycling-Bin-EWC-302/205512911

2 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Hmmm... 3 feet sounds like a challenging position to assume, lol.

Well, this girl seems to have no problem with it. Looks like she's using a square type of trashcan.

http://www.ocala.com/news/20110715/rolling-greens-residents-invention-trash-can-storm-shelter

Seems a bit excessive pouring concrete and rebar, I would think the ground would do a fine job of holding a trashcan. Thinking of that water table that would probably rise during flood conditions/rainy season/tornado season/etc., perhaps I would entertain creating an earth berm around the trash can? Maybe that's why she added concrete, to keep out the water from a rising water table.

Oh cool, looks like there's a local "barrel supplier" on craigslist for prices appreciably under the equivalent retail prices ($25 vs $100 at walmart.). I think I might just give him a call... have to get skype credit..

I think I might just bury a metal trashcan to store my cheese.

http://www.earthineer.com/blog/2610/trash-can-root-cellar

This guy put holes in the bottom of his trashcan. Hmm... if I did that, I have a strong feeling that water would rise inside the trashcan with the water table during the rainy parts of the year. I wonder if I just built an earth berm... I wonder if it'd still have the same affect? That way I could double up this earth berm trashcan thingie for both an emergency storm shelter and cheese storage. (Looks like the cheese would average at about 66 degrees in this area, that's good enough to prevent the cheese from becoming all gross. I might even be able to use younger/softer cheeses, not that I really want to.)

 

[marty]

Ant repellent - Use chili powder. It works. I know this because I used to be a ant in one of my past life's.

Eliminate House Ants Naturally Without Toxic Pesticides

 

[swbluto]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23331120-500-cholesterol-wars-does-a-pill-a-day-keep-heart-attacks-away/

Statins lower cholesterol, which lowers heart-disease risk. The official line justifies many people popping these pills – but the evidence is not so clear-cuta

Exactly. Bacteria causes heart attacks (In particular, Staph Aureus), not cholesterol. The only reason why cholesterol might correlate with heart issues is because cholesterol comes from fructose/galactose consumption and is a byproduct of liver metabolism, and in the western world, much of the fructose/galactose consumption out their comes from refined/processed foods, which without the intact fiber and natural antibiotics, grows bacteria colonies unlike natural sources. So, if we removed all the industrial food sources in the western world, there would be no correlation between cholesterol and heart attacks, in fact, you'd find the opposite (See that one paper I linked that showed an inverse relationship between total cholesterol and CVD when looking at individual food groups; i.e., bananas increase cholesterol, but have an inverse relationship with CVD. The reason why is because bacteria is the enemy, not cholesterol, and bananas increase cholesterol via liver metabolism of the fructose in the sucrose, but it doesn't increase bad bacteria colonies, at least not significantly.).

Now, what /might/ keep the doctor away. Flaxseed with every meal, no snacks, and avoid processed/refined(i.e., anything made from carbs that have been milled/powdered/chopped-up/stripped/separated/polished/etc.) carbs like the plague. [carbs = starches and sugars.]

A liquid antibiotic might be relataively effective when consumed with bread or similar.

Anyway, as to diet. My carb intake has been quite low today. 40grams of corn this morning,then an another 30grams through peanut consumption and another 15 grams through greenbeans. Had a can of chicken breast, too. And, I'm feeling quite awake and energetic and haven't really been hungry. It seems like the pineapple yesterday night likely had a strong antiobiotic cleansing affect on me, because I noticed the characteristic smelly recess in my tooth (I can usually smell it on the flosser) didn't smell at all tonight. And, I'm still feeling "really awake" in much the same manner as I did immediately after eating the pineapple. So, I'm guessing the "awake feeling" came from the strong cleansing affect the pineapple had.

 

[fechter]

Pineapple contains Bromelain.

Bromelain is used for reducing swelling (inflammation), especially of the nose and sinuses, after surgery or injury. It is also used for hay fever, treating a bowel condition that includes swelling and ulcers (ulcerative colitis), removing dead and damaged tissue after a burn (debridement), preventing the collection of water in the lung (pulmonary edema), relaxing muscles, stimulating muscle contractions, slowing clotting, improving the absorption of antibiotics, preventing cancer, shortening labor, and helping the body get rid of fat

Keep in mind that general antibiotics are not really what you want. You need those bacteria in your gut to function properly. What you want are selective antibiotics that suppress the bad bugs but encourage the good bugs.

A researcher here says "get the white out", meaning avoid processed food and those with high gylcemic index like bleached flour, white rice, white sugar, potatoes, etc. The bad bugs love this stuff.

If you bury a trash can or similar sealed container and the water table is above the bottom of it, there will be a strong tendency for the thing to float and lift right out of the ground. This can happen with an entire swimming pool. You may need to avoid going below the water table and build a big mound of dirt around the outside, like a giant ant hill.

 

[swbluto]

Pineapple contains Bromelain.

Bromelain is used for reducing swelling (inflammation), especially of the nose and sinuses, after surgery or injury. It is also used for hay fever, treating a bowel condition that includes swelling and ulcers (ulcerative colitis), removing dead and damaged tissue after a burn (debridement), preventing the collection of water in the lung (pulmonary edema), relaxing muscles, stimulating muscle contractions, slowing clotting, improving the absorption of antibiotics, preventing cancer, shortening labor, and helping the body get rid of fat

Keep in mind that general antibiotics are not really what you want. You need those bacteria in your gut to function properly. What you want are selective antibiotics that suppress the bad bugs but encourage the good bugs.

Well, I'm not really sure if there is such a thing as 'good bugs'. I think you have 'harmless bugs' and 'harmful bugs'(Staph aureus chief among them). Granted, you're right, you don't want to be take /real/ antibiotics (Don't want a C. Difficile infection.), I just mean the dietary equivalents like flaxseed, cocoa, garlic, etc which I'm assuming gets largely degraded/absorbed by the time it reaches the colon (The site of C. Difficile infections). Granted, those might have a sparing affect on some of the less harmful bugs, but this I do not know. I wouldn't think it would if it kills all the bad guys. I don't think cocoa/garlic/penicillin-roqueforti knows between 'good bugs' and 'bad bugs'; it just knows 'bugs'. However, I suspect that natural fruits do tend to favor the 'harmless bugs', and cheese definitely favors the 'harmless bugs' (Especially the sharper/older varieties).

I guess the difference between real antibiotics / dietary-antibiotics is that one is systemic, the other is localized to the mouth/stomach/small-intestine where much of the bacterial activity takes place.

Totally agree on "The whites". I've been noticing that, all these high glycemic carb sources seem to be white. (potatos,white rice, flour,sugar,etc.); Seems like you want green(leaves), brown(nuts & high fiber grains.) and blue(berries)/purples(grapes)/reds(apples)/oranges(carrots/sweet-potatos)/yellows(ripe bananas/ripe limes/etc.), lol. Pretty much the rainbow, lol.

 

[swbluto]

Anyway, I love about this low rent situation, that it doesn't take much savings to have "FU money". Granted, I'm not /really/ set up on my property yet, but I'm getting there. Just need a bunch of clay and maybe a thin layer of crushed concrete to hold down the geotextile fabric and provide a flat surface, if used in conjunction with wooden boards. I really need to call around and find where I can pick up some crushed rock/concrete at a cost effective price. Once I'm there, I'm in a true "FU" situation, no need to be subservient to anyone to keep myself alive and thriving. (Right now, I'm partially subservient to the cops if they stick their nose in my business since I'm on the road, but once I'm on my property, oh yeah, FU pigs.)

I realize that if I were in a higher rent situation/locale (Like Socal or DC), it'd take quite a bit of savings to achieve similar security. (And more than that, it'd take a hefty income to service the taxes and income is intrinsically more volatile than savings.)

Now, I'm not suggesting to tell your customers to "F off" (Not necessarily a good idea if they can harm you), but you can afford to provide "good customer service" as long as you're ensuring overall profitability. When you have $50 in your savings accounts, it's hard to provide 'good customer service' when someone with a $80 order demands a full refund/return and won't accept anything else. (If you don't give them their money back, they decidely think you lack 'good customer service' and they /will/ you let you know that... lol)

Anyway, it's not like I have a huge rate of returns... but I do notice that the more expensive something is, the more likely it's going to get returned, especially if you advertise you accept returns. Seems like I had a few people see that 'today is the last day to return it' and that "Fear of missing out on that money" was kicking in, regardless of the product itself. (The product itself is a one-time use kind of product in many cases, and it seems like once people use it, they're like... I have no more use for it, I wonder if I can return it for a full refund... lol.)

Anyway, I notice that many of the stores(Walmart, etc.) put up signs recently saying they require ID when accepting returns and they remind people they have the right to decline a return. Seems that a sizable portion of the population has gotten into the habit of using returns as a secondary income source, which is what Walmart noticed, thus why the need to ID you. See if you've been a "serial returner". I don't have that kind of history available to me on my buyers, so I don't know who's a 'serial returner' and who's not, so I've been taking other measures recently. [I still offer returns for legitimate cases, but I'm trying to dissuade the more honest serial returners. I realize dissuasion is not to going to be effective on the dishonest, but those cases tend to be rare.]

 

[swbluto]

During the peak of performance, I noticed a strange numbing sensation running down my left forearm and pinky that vanished as soon as it came (About 5 seconds later). My ulnar nerve wasn't being pinched by a hard surface, so unless there's a pinch in C7 on the left side, this would suggest possible cardiac involvement (I've been running low carbs since yesterday, getting energy from peanuts/peanut butter). So I googled and found one report of someone else's dad having a serious issue during their peak of performance, and I also found this research.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/125/8/1058

Meta-analysis of 4 case-crossover studies, which consisted of 50% to 74% males predominantly in their 50s and 60s, showed that sexual activity was associated with a 2.70 increased relative risk of myocardial infarction (MI) compared with periods of time when the subjects were not engaged in sexual activity (Figure).30 The relative risk of MI does not appear to be higher in subjects with a history of MI than in those without prior known CAD.31 Sedentary individuals have a relative risk of coital MI of 3.0, whereas physically active individuals have a relative risk of 1.2.

Being physically active seems to be really important! I've always known it was, just didn't know it was that pronounced. I've been decidely sedentary since getting here; driving everywhere and doing computer work, mostly, means I've been relatively sedentary most days.

 

[DAND214]

So Bluto, how about some Pics of your work. Business and or your paradise you are building. All I have read is about what you are going to do but never SEE what you have really done. A Picture is worth a 1xxxxxxx words, as they say. I think if you worked on you land as much as you post it would be done by now!

So all we read is how sick you are. Why don't you just eat a normal meal like the rest of us. If I ate what you are eating I defiantly be sick like you claim to be.

Dan

 

[swbluto]

Ummm... grocery store is 25 miles away and I ran short early in the week, that's why. I do eat "normally" most days, but didn't the last few days of the week.

Yes, anyway.,. I need to purchase some clay first before I get my driveway done. And, that /should/ be happening next week... But, I've been busy with orders and taking to my few hours of "Time off" to relax. Being on here and researching new research directions is relaxing compared to work, lol. The next 4 days are jam-packed with work, trying to relax now, lol.

Anyway, was just at HEB, saw the seeds and fruit trees they have for a relatively cheap price. The "Tropic Snow" peach tree that a craigslist guy was advertising for $100 was $23 at HEB and was the same size and everything. Saw it came from "Tree Town USA" so I'm trying to find their farm here - the corporate HQ is in Houston,TX so I /know/ the main farm is here somewhere. [Checked it out, appears they have fuji apple, but none of their locations have macadamia nor filberts/hazelnuts.] Anyway, was a little nonplussed from the lack of watermelon seeds[macadamia/apple, basically any tree, I should grow from an existing succeeding tree]. Peculiar I didn't see peanut seeds, maybe they figure it's best to just plant peanuts, lol. The spinach seeds were interesting, they seemed particularly fast growing compared to the other seeds.

I thought it was peculiar that HEB was selling pine trees for $79, considering this forest is /filled/ with those guys, and nobody would mind if you removed a few from the road, lol. I already have! lol

On another note, I'm finding it pays to have the ability to maintain equipment, lol. A lot of people I know would simply buy a replacement but... that's a way to become poor, lol. A few of my competitors have left the market because they couldn't maintain their equipment (Probably didn't have electrical expertise), whereas thanks to my maintenance activity, after 2 years, my equipment is still running without flaws. It's been a learning curve, for sure, but it pays to know how to fix things, yes yes.

One such instance, my printer stopped working. I diagnosed it and the power supply failed. Simple, right? Just order a replacement power supply. Unfortunately, this equipment is so old, replacement power supplies are impossible to find. So, I did the next best thing, order a comparable laptop power supply for $6 and mated the connector to the new power supply, and voila, I got a working printer for $6, instead of forking over another $100 for another printer.

Oh, that's another reason I need a fence. To protect my garden! lol

https://www.amazon.com/Package-Watermelon-Citrullus-Seed-Needs/dp/B002YESS90

I got all kinds of plants and they were growing good til a ground hog ate 3/4 of the plants. I had one in a container where pests can't get at it and it is growing good. Only problem is watermelons are only getting to be the size of softballs.

I haven't noticed groundhogs here, but I have noticed little bunnies.

Hmmm... seems like squirrels can be a garden nuisance... And the squirrels around here definitely like to take flying leaps between trees...

https://bonnieplants.com/library/keeping-squirrels-out-of-the-garden/

I think this may make for some good target practice, lol. (it'd be better if I actually had my RV near the backyard... Perhaps I'll construct a shed back there for work-purposes and the RV will remain personal living quarters for sleeping/eating/etc. Hmm... that would actually be ideal, I would think, I don't really like my business being in my living quarters. Plus, I need more room for all my business gear - I can't really setup my second business because of lack of room. And, I could get solar set up, too, in the workshed. Would only make sense with it consuming the vast majority of my electricity. I'd probably want to be in the work shed during the day, anyways; it's likelier to be cooler than the RV.

Just searched "Feeling hungry and feeling full at the same time" and came across Bullimia pages, lol. Jeez, I just ran out of carbs for about 2 days, lol, I'm not bullimic, I swear! lol (Anyway, being functionally equivalent to a bullimic without trying isn't good news; bullimia is associated with some serious cardiovascular risks. Might explain a few things.)

Oh, this sounds ominous.

Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia) are associated with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. Much of this mortality and morbidity stem from cardiovascular complications such as arrhythmia related to a prolonged QTc interval and/or electrolyte disorders, hypotension, and bradycardia. Structurally, the heart in patients with eating disorders is atrophic, which may relate to longstanding hypovolemia. These patients have low cardiac output and demonstrate increased peripheral vascular resistance despite the presence of hypotension. The treatment of eating disorders is incremental caloric feeding, which can have its own intrinsic cardiovascular risk (refeeding syndrome) manifested by arrhythmia, tachycardia, congestive heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Patients will require close monitoring and slower refeedings to minimize the risk of these complications.

Anyway, I took a look at the clay these guys are offering and hmm.... it looks like you can drive on this stuff (red dry stuff) directly if it's already been compacted. So, I think I'm just going to roll my RV directly on the clay and forgo the 'topping' for now. I'll get the topper stone/rocks/etc. specifically for the van, methinks, and not the entire driveway. And, that should help keep costs down.

Anyway, I was at the soil store, and she asked and I told her "No culvert" and she just looked at me like "OK, you're in for a life lesson.", lol.

Anyway, I thought about what would happen without a culvert... and I figure the water level on the left side would be higher than the right side during downpours. Is that a problem? I don't think it is. As long it never gets higher than the driveway, it shouldn't just "flow across it" and cut a ravine through the driveway. And, if a ravine is cut across the driveway, then it's simple matter of putting a culvert into the newly created ravine to prevent further erosion. Or, I could just build a higher driveway. But, at that point, likely my property would get flooded since the property would be lower than the driveway. I'm just assuming the water levels would never get that high, I've never seen them that high. So, I'm thinking this clay road/driveway could probably be a bit longer than I originally imagined if it's driveable when dry. That's good, so I can position my RV a bit more inside the actual property line for fencing purposes. I want to protect my entire RV/shed because it will contain all my valuable equipment. The people around here generally don't have fences; I will. It's not really that expensive to set up a gaming fence. Maybe a couple hundred.

Looking into refeeding syndrome on wikipedia. Found this:

This process requires phosphates, magnesium and potassium which are already depleted and the stores rapidly become used up.

Oh, interesting, maybe that's why they suggest to take vitamins during fasting. And, spinach and other green vegetables, have plenty of these particular minerals, so it does seem like one could live off of greenery. And, peanuts and other nuts, have plenty of these kind of minerals. Seems like it'd suggest that these "refeeding risks" would be minimized with peanut consumption... might explain why peanuts seemed to sate my hunger so easily and "made me feel alright", albeit, not particularly energetic... Yes, so eat your nuts and greenery during an absence of carbs. Coincidentally, I think that's the kind of food that was most readily available before the age of agriculture (But, I do think people probably made crops from native food for many tens of thousands of years if not hundreds and possibly millions, but probably not irrigated to a significant extent (Thus, the 'native' foods part). It's hard to believe that our ancestors weren't aware of the idea of seeds/planting-things given how intuitive it is and how in-tune our ancestors were with nature.). And my mom did tell me stories how they'd grow green beans for consumption and the children picked them, and the adults would cook them and they'd grow back like every 2 weeks.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302121617.htm

Peanut consumption associated with decreased total mortality and mortality from cardiovascular diseases

"Nuts are rich in nutrients, such as unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vitamins, phenolic antioxidants, arginine and other phytochemicals. All of them are known to be beneficial to cardiovascular health, probably through their anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and endothelial function maintenance properties," Shu said.

Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory - what was the word that those code words stood for? Oh, yes, antibacterial, lol. And, oh yeah, you can bet the ednothelium can continue to do its job properly after the Protein A wielding staph aureus have been wiped out by the nutty goodness of peanuts. [Remember how Protein A causes endothelium dysfunction?]

Anyway, this is an interesting neighborhood, for sure. On one plot, it looks like a white family and a mexican family is living there (in two separate tenements; a trailer and an upscale RV. The white family lives in the upscale RV.) and they're sharing a driveway.

Okay, just in case anyone forgot how Staph Aureus's Protein A causes endothelium dysfunction, here it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_A#Role_in_pathogenesis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Willebrand_factor

And, I'm going to quote the relevant passages.

Protein A facilitates the adherence of S. aureus to human von Willebrand factor (vWF)-coated surfaces, thus increasing the bacteria's infectiousness at the site of skin penetration.

Von Willebrand factor (vWF) (/ˌfʌnˈvɪlᵻbrɑːnt/) is a blood glycoprotein involved in hemostasis. It is deficient or defective in von Willebrand disease and is involved in a large number of other diseases, including thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, Heyde's syndrome, and possibly hemolytic-uremic syndrome.[3]Increased plasma levels in a large number of cardiovascular, neoplastic, and connective tissue diseases are presumed to arise from adverse changes to the endothelium, and may contribute to an increased risk of thrombosis.

I emboldened the endothelium dysfunction part.

And, look at this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4708628/

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common bacteria implicated in food poisoning. The grape, lemon, and lime juice concentrates showed good inhibitory and bacteriocidal activities against this pathogen (MIC values of 25, 25, and 12.5 μg/mL, respectively).

Somehow I just knew that limes were the best in the west against this outlaw - it requires the least amount of concentration to kill staph aureus. (Actually, I didn't know, I just like limes more than lemons, lol.) [The 'good' part is mildly concerning; suggests it's not 100% effective, i.e., there's always a few left ready to regrow into colonies upon the presence of a suitable carb source. They like refined carbs and carbs that quickly converts into glucose/fructose/galactose, ie, high GI carbs. Tells me I need some flax to more completely kill this sucker.]

 

[DAND214]

Share you driveway but never your wife/girlfriend

Dan

 

[swbluto]

So, I've compared HEB with burpee vs. bakercreek vs. fedco and Fedco is definitely my favorite source for seeds. About half the price of HEB and third the price of burpee (Won't even compare to bakercreek because they don't even have what I'm looking for. They /only/ stock non-standard items, lol.), and they have pretty much everything.

So, I think I'm looking for fruit trees and seeds. I figure once I get on my property, I can clear the backyard, setup the greenhouse and use the greenhouse for germinating plants and then transplant to the soil later. For fruit trees, I think I might just prefer cheaper sources first. They'll take longer to bear fruit, but I don't care about this, because it seems like seeds will likely be my most productive and earliest producing source of food anyways. And, man, watermelons... like... I don't think there's a fruit in the world that compares to watermelons, lol. And they have lycopene and L-citruline, so they're doubleplusgood in my opinion.

I'm hoping I can get a delivery of clay sometime next week, and then I get my RV on my property. Still need to remove some trees and start digging up the topsoil to lengthen the driveway so I can get the RV more fully on my property (So it will fit in the fenced in area.).

 

[swbluto]

Anyway, it relation to CVD, I've really been focusing on the role of bacteria in the cause of the disease. I'll call this the clogging cause. These affects typically manifests more commonly at older age, though they can manifest at any age, though usually after age 35-40.

But, what about the atrophic causes? Seems like known root causes under the atrophic umbrella are sedentarianism and anorexic eating patterns(Not eating enough). Chronic stress/fear/anxiety seems to be plausible, but I would have to look more into this [does cortisol cause permanent vessel shrinkage? It definitely causes at least temporary vessel shrinkage through vasoconstriction, so longterm shrinkage affects seem.s certainly plausible if repeated/sustained enough.]. As proven by teenage anorexics, this can happen at any age.

The atrophic and clogging causes can be simultaneously present, and probably 'multiply' the affect.

Cortisol also seems like it might contribute to the "clogging cause" but I'm not entirely sure about the method of action and, thus, if it really does or it just happens to be usually present during immune reactions to bacteria and just /seems/ like it does.

Anyway, yesterday at HEB, I saw that HEB put a sign up saying "Sorry, sold out" implying they couldn't source the product anymore. What was that product? Alaskan pink salmon (Honeyboy can).

UH OH... I remember this trend well back in Spokane, once the salmon runs out, good luck finding it!

So, I bought out the rest of the HEB pink salmon (it's good stuff compared to honeyboys) which was 5 can. I'm going to see if they have anymore in stock next thursday, if not, then I'm making a trip to ALL the HEB stores within a 20-30 mile radius and I'm buying up every single one of them! lol Because... I know exactly what this means based on last years experience...

Anyway, this morning, feeling a bit off... drank some cocoa (just straight cocoa powder mixed with water) and... mmmm... so delicious. I was wondering, "Why did it taste so delicious?" and then I remember that "refeeding article" where they talk about magnesium/potassium/phosphorus getting used up when carb consumption is restored, and I'm thinking that's what it was. Eating all that fruit yesterday restarted the carb metabolism and used up existing magnesium stores and thus the cocoa tasted extra delicious this morning. So, I'm making some more, lol.

Anyway, I'm adding millet back into my diet, because it's rich in magnesium/minerals unlike white rice. I suspect white rice has a way of depleting magnesium stores (Since the glucose uses those minerals when it either gets burned off or stored into fat), and I'm suspecting that the white rice eating people of japan / china got their magnesium to compensate from lots of vegetables, and I think I remember their diet "back in the old days" did consist of lots of vegetables. I haven't really had much in the way of vegetables in recent weeks because it has a way of being gone within 3-4 days and the in-town grocery store doesn't sell vegetables. I'm thinking vegetables are going to be common to my garden, I just need to fend off the rabbits from eating my spinach, lol.

Anyway, I saw this Los Angeles person feed a family of 5 with vegetables/plants grown from a garden on a 1/10th acre. I noticed they don't rely on "calorie crops", instead buying rice/wheat/oats for that purpose.

[youtube]NCmTJkZy0rM[/youtube]

I thinking I'll probably grow some calorie crops, I'm thinking corn and sweet potatos primarily. [I don't have the dryness necessary for the "dry crops', wheat/oats/etc.] (That purple anthocyanin rich sweet potatos from BareCreek is pretty interesting. And purple corn is pretty interesting, but I don't know how viable it is as a calorie crop. That is, I don't know if purple sweet corn exists... field corn is like... I don't want to ground up the kernels, seems to violate my "No processed foods" standards.)

It's interesting they have goats. I wonder if I can get some milking goats and make some goat cheese? The chickens for bug control and eggs, and the goat or two for landscape control and goat milk/cheese(Maybe even goat butter, lol). The goat might just eat my spinach, though... I dunno, lol.

It's interesting these people were looking for 'freedom'. It's primarily why I bought this land, I wanted freedom from 1) Government 2) Taxation and 3) Landlords 4) Banks. Pretty much Government, Landlords and Banks in that order. I also want freedom from the Grocery economy and the Petroleum markets, but that's not really a huge deal (In particular, petroleum markets, because my customers largely pay for the majority of my gasoline usage. If I had no orders, I wouldn't use that much gasoline). I realize I'll probably need to source calories from the grocery stores anyways, though a research paper showed that 4000 sq. ft. is enough to sustain one person according to an article, and I have somewhere around 75x110 feet available for gardening, about 8000 sq. ft., so it has potential. I'll probably need extra water for the calorie crops to help boost their glucose/sucrose production.

I'm just wondering if there's someway I can 'get some of the rain" from my neighbors land somehow... Digging a trench or some such near the perimeter? The ditch out front will probably be valuable during heavy rainfall. My culvert-less driveway to build the water levels on the left side, and me my buckets ready to collect the excess water, lol. That actually stands a reasonably good chance of exceeding my water capacity, yes, since that water is all the water that's been shed off the road (on the left side) for at least 1/4 of a mile. So, heavy rainfall events that seem to happen every month or so might just be an excellent thing for my crops. Probably won't need to create trenching to tap water from my neighbor's land, lol.

It's nice that they have all these cheap barrels on Houston's craigslist. Can be used to haul rocks and store rain water, which might be handy to have for my crops.

Update: Just got done with a little task and felt like I was getting 'stir crazy' or something along those lines, so I went for quick set of 2 sprints and oddly enough felt a pulsating pain in the center of my left palm and the middle of the bottom of my right foot. The pulsating hand pain persisted while the foot pain subsided, and I noticed that the pain seemed to be provoked at the very end of each exhale. Ok, no doubt about the origin of that, something to do with the heart, since the lungs/heart are intricately intertwined with other through the pulmonary veins/arteries. (The pulmonary vein/arteries directly take blood from the deoxygenated right chambers to the oxygenated left chambers.). How exactly could an exhale provoke left center palm pain shortly after intense cardio exercise? I don't know exactly. Let's see... what happens during exhale... co2 is released from the body...

Okay, here's a related thread:

http://www.justanswer.com/neurology/7ausf-cause-intermittent-pain-seconds-duration-left-wrist-low.html

Expert: Dr. Frank replied 4 years ago.
ok. So unlikely this is carpal tunnel. So since you only get this with exhaling, there is a possibility that this is a vascular problem, and the changes in the subclavian artery, the artery that supplies blood flow to your arm is somehow compromised when you exhale. There is a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), where you can have a pinching of the subclavian artery, as it passes over the 1st or top rib, and underneath the collar bone, so as you blow out, you bring down your shoulders and pinch the artery. One way to avoid this is all about posture, bringing your shoulders back and your chest out will improve the flow of the artery. There is also a test to do to see if you have TOS, it is called the adson's but you need to have someone check your radial artery pulse when you pull your arm back in extension. You could have someone do that with you, or ask your doctor. I will attach a webpage on TOS, please get back to me to discuss, or rate my service if you are satisfied. Dr Frank T
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/418670-overview
Ask Your Own Neurology Question
Customer: replied 4 years ago.
Thank you. I will review the website. I found your advice to be very helpful and will rank you very high! One last question, I had concern that this could be heart related but it doesn't sound like that is a primary concern? Correct? I don't have any heart issues to date but was worried about that.
Expert: Dr. Frank replied 4 years ago.
Sure, I understand that can be a concern. Left arm pain in cardiac disease is usually constant tingling in the hand or sensory symptoms. It can also be a referred pain, but I would not expect it to change with respiratory movements. You should also have ancillary symptoms of shortness of breath, a heaviness or weight on your chest, shallow breathing, diaphoresis or sweating. I cannot see you but I didn't get that impression, more that you were having this occasional pain that was synchronous with your breathing, and I do not believe that is cardiac like. Dr Frank T

Oh yes, subclavian artery related TOS is certainly possible. I've been looking down/right at my laptop screen quite a bit recently for work and have noticed periodic sharp pain at the base of my neck, so this is certainly possible.

It just doesn't seem like the subclavian/TOS hypothesis really explains all the happenings in recent days, though. Like, one question I've asked myself... "If this is cardio related, have I experienced any other definite related symptoms like chest pain?", and while for much of the last year I would answer no, sure enough, about 6 days ago, I was experiencing some significant chest pain while laying in bed asleep, and I was barely awake when it was happening (95% sleeping, 5% awake enough to just barely notice it), but I certainly noticed it enough to be clearly remembered the next morning. So, actually, yes... I'd say the constellation of symptoms is getting rather complete to suggest subclavian/TOS isn't a complete explanation. Just what is the complete explanation? I dunno. Vascular atrophy, arythmmias, maybe... And, I've been having periodic shortness of breath episodes over the last couple of months. And, the nocturnal panic attacks were happening just a year ago, something a wise british doctor told another patient was often a harbinger of impending heart problems. Totally not panicking about this, but it seems like it's been becoming ineluctably more and more serious even though my doubts were initially quite large. Panic wasn't a 'complete' symptom profile, but shortness of breath and significant nocturnal chest pain and related features is certainly helping to complete it. Granted, it does seem like many of these episodes were preceded by a feeling of panic/urgency even though I swear I'm quite relaxed out here. At least I think... maybe not sometimes...lol (And, he mentions sweating... sometimes after awaking, I do notice a bit of sweat... usually goes away by the next time I wake up...)

Anyway, sure enough, getting periodic sharp left back shoulder/neck pain during running bursts. Seems like it could be TOS.

I've done 4 running bursts today so far, it's about a 300 foot dash (100 yards). So, about 8x 100 yard dashes. Think I'm going to start incorporating dashses throughout my day.

Hmmm... now that I'm thinking about it more... It seems like TOS is certainly plausible. Someone else online mentioned that TOS is an often unknown cause of clot formation which can lead to strokes and interestingly enough, it appeared that I had a hemispheric stroke(one side) after turning over to sleep on my right side (Left side went paralyzed; complete loss of muscle function/tone on the left side) and it disappeared shortly after I flipped over. And, it seemed that sleeping on my right side often lead to nocturnal panic attacks, so I started sleeping on my back where I never had it happen. But, it's not completely consistent... because the stroke was on the right side of the brain (Presumably, since the left went paralyzed), and this neck pain/hand pain appears to be on the left.

So, TOS seems somewhat consistent as an explanation.

Oh, bingo.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501918/

Thoracic outlet syndrome of pectoralis minor etiology mimicking cardiac symptoms on activity: a case report

Thoracic outlet syndrome is the result of compression or irritation of neurovascular bundles as they pass from the lower cervical spine into the arm, via the axilla. If the pectoralis minor muscle is involved the patient may present with chest pain, along with pain and paraesthesia into the arm. These symptoms are also commonly seen in patients with chest pain of a cardiac origin. In this case, a patient presents with a history of left sided chest pain with pain and paraesthesia into the left upper limb, which only occurs whilst running.

Anyway, involvement by C7 seems somewhat likely.

 

[swbluto]

Man, I cannot /wait/ until I get that driveway built and I get myself on the property and fenced in. All the shooting I hear going on every single day, in different places, is not helping my natural paranoia, lol. It's one thing when I hear this guy's shooting at what I presume is his house everytime he hears a noise he doesn't like, but it's quite another when I hear the exact same shooting 'style' at someone else's house in the distance. Not that I'm thinking he just murdered someone... nor am I excluding the possibility it could be someone else... but yes... the thought does cross my mind, lol. Being on my property has the advantage of 1) reducing my visibility and 2) Putting some distance between the would be gun-wielding-intruders and me. I don't really know if this place has crime/violence of North Floridian proportions, but I'm suspecting there's a possibility it does, even though I didn't think it did when I was looking at this place, lol. I assumed it was "houston" and subsequently, had the overall well being of houston. But, I didn't think it was like 80-90% mexican so it seems, and probably half illegal mexicans, and I'm thinking that the mexicans here probably have a higher unemployment rate than Houston in general, so it's very possible this is a "hostile destitution" kind of place that I've just been assuming it wasn't... I've been assuming that people just love their guns, being Texans and all that.

Anyway, right now, I'm playing the "I'm poorer than you" strategy and just hoping that I don't get robbed, lol. Well, plus, I have a few weapons at my disposal, but I'm not advertising them. Don't want to draw attention to myself in this environment, lol. If they knew I had some $8000 worth of equipment, they would think differently... but that's the key: they don't. The only thing they see is a crappy little RV and I want to keep it that way, lol. [Assuming I won't be targeted like that one texan sleeping in the back of his truck under an overpass. I'm assuming I won't, people don't seem to come down this way that often, and they certainly don't do it with murderous intent... I don't think there's anyone down here they really want to murder...]

I want to keep the valuable shit hidden. That's why there's thick vegetation separating the front from the back, to keep the back hidden, so that it doesn't even hint of a back from the front. That way I feel a little more comfortable putting my business equipment/solar panels/generators/etc. back there (But, of course, secured when leaving just in case.). By leaving the sole piece of equipment in front, a crappy little RV, and some shoddy makeshift fixtures in the front, I'm hoping that will deter would be burglars. They'll assume there's nothing really there but a crappy RV and some trash and they will not suspect a thing about what's actually there. So, yes, it's a 3 part security strategy - 1) Hide 2) Secure 3) Dissuade with an unpromising front [I would say, fool with a false front, but.. I do actually sleep in my RV, at least for now, so it's not really false, lol.]

 

[Dauntless]

I need a fence too, I've had so many bikes stolen lately. If I'ds had an inventory of my garage a year ago I wonder what I'd figure out was missing.

 

[swbluto]

I imagine it must be bad in LA. I've seen a few young guys walking down the road here, suggesting they don't have a car telling me they're probably destitute. This isn't an area I'd be living in if I didn't have a car... without a car... you don't have access to real jobs... Without a job... in texas... means no food... hunger makes for some violence...the french revolution and many revolutions past tell me that...rising temperatures only exacerbate it...

Anyway, doing some calorie growing estimates for the "top" calorie crops.

Sweet potatoes are 500 calories/m^2 per month, average.

8000 sq. ft. = 743 m^2 -> 743 m^2 * 500 calories/ m^2 per month = 371,500 calories per month . Divide by 30 days per month -> 12,383 calories per day.

Peanuts are about 8000 calories per day with 2/3rd the calorie productivity.

Ok, so this land possibly has pretty good potential to keep me fed if I so desired. With the crop growing winter being 2 months long, it seems like I don't really have to store crops that long as more norther neighbors. Also, since a greenhouse adds a few weeks to the beginning of the season and at the end of a season, a greenhouse would make it productive year round, no need to store crops.

That's pretty cool, the idea of not needing to buy groceries. Would boost my profit margins a bit, especially during months with lower revenue levels.

 

[marty]

Anyway, I was at the soil store, and she asked and I told her "No culvert" and she just looked at me like "OK, you're in for a life lesson.", lol.

Anyway, I thought about what would happen without a culvert... and I figure the water level on the left side would be higher than the right side during downpours. Is that a problem? I don't think it is. As long it never gets higher than the driveway, it shouldn't just "flow across it" and cut a ravine through the driveway. And, if a ravine is cut across the driveway, then it's simple matter of putting a culvert into the newly created ravine to prevent further erosion. Or, I could just build a higher driveway. But, at that point, likely my property would get flooded since the property would be lower than the driveway. I'm just assuming the water levels would never get that high, I've never seen them that high. So, I'm thinking this clay road/driveway could probably be a bit longer than I originally imagined if it's driveable when dry. That's good, so I can position my RV a bit more inside the actual property line for fencing purposes. I want to protect my entire RV/shed because it will contain all my valuable equipment. The people around here generally don't have fences; I will. It's not really that expensive to set up a gaming fence. Maybe a couple hundred.

Anyway, I'm OK with the idea of filling in the gulley because I've seen the water around here. It doesn't flow anywhere. It just sits in the trenches. So, I don't think "flow" is going to take out a driveway on my particular property like might be true in a conventional culvert situation. So, I think filling it in is perfectably doable. It's really just a good idea to build it high, to make sure it is well above the current water levels, and to make sure there's some good trenching around it. The water levels get pretty high.

Ditch slope can be 1 inch per mile and water will flow.

How are other driveways built? Do they use a pipe?

What did the fish say when he swam into a concrete wall? "Dam"

Take a walk around and look at the other driveways. Walk don't drive. Ya see and smell more when walking.

Happy that you have talked to the neighbors.

WOULD IT HELP IF I TYPE IN CAPITALS? Got bungee straps? Go buy a pipe. What diameter? material? Ask the people who sell the pipe? Ask Bigmoose?

Some thoughts about your driveway. Here the county puts the culvert in for free in the roadside ditch. Might want to check that out. The county put in a metal culvert at the road, then I had a creek 300 feet in. I put in two sections of 24 inch concrete pipe and filled around it with clay. I learned the hard way when the cement trucks came in to pour the footer and floor that they extruded the clay around my concrete culvert. I had to dig it up, reset the two concrete pipes then put #57 limestone around it. It has been rock solid for 30 years.

On hauling rock. I had the bright idea to do that with a trailer and a 1/2 ton Chevy Tahoe. It cost me the transmission and the rear differential. I did like 20 trips when putting in curtain drains around my property. There is nothing like a 1 ton dump truck for hauling stone and dirt. Don't even try to do it yourself. Just order in a Tandem load of what ever you need. If they can get the truck over the geotextile they can "tailgate" the stone out. Basically set the rear dump door at 4 inches or so and drive as they dump. It spreads pretty good. At least you don't have a big pile to spread out.

Finally if you but it a garbage can at a time, you won't get a decent price. Even a ton at a time is high. Your best price is on a Tandem axle dump load.

Good luck! I remember those days well. ... too darn old now to ever do it again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings.

 

[DAND214]

Swbluto wrote:
Anyway, doing some calorie growing estimates for the "top" calorie crops.

Sweet potatoes are 500 calories/m^2 per month, average.

8000 sq. ft. = 743 m^2 -> 743 m^2 * 500 calories/ m^2 per month = 371,500 calories per month . Divide by 30 days per month -> 12,383 calories per day.

Peanuts are about 8000 calories per day with 2/3rd the calorie productivity.

Ok, so this land possibly has pretty good potential to keep me fed if I so desired. With the crop growing winter being 2 months long, it seems like I don't really have to store crops that long as more norther neighbors. Also, since a greenhouse adds a few weeks to the beginning of the season and at the end of a season, a greenhouse would make it productive year round, no need to store crops.

Gonna eat sweet potatoes all the time? Wow, what a meal!

Confused again. So how big is this forest? 8,000 sq ft is kinda big for your lot if you plan on a green house, driveway and a shed, isn't it?
Maybe I got it wrong, your lot/forest is 4 acres or 1/4 acre?

Dan

 

[swbluto]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tom-brady-better-shape-39-195223582.html

According to Louisiana State University researchers, the tiny gut microbes in our stomach ferment chocolate into anti-inflammatory compounds that shut down genes linked to insulin resistance and inflammation.

That's an interesting theory. Pretty interesting considering that it's well established that cocoa is a strong antibacterial and kills those very microbes "fermenting it". What the heck? What is there in cocoa to ferment? Bacteria doesn't ferment magnesium, it ferments glucose/fructose/galactose (i.e., carbs). I'm assuming we're talking about cocoa beans that have already been fermented prior to them being grounded into a powder or roasted, etc. and sold commercially.

And, there's that 'antiinflammatory' word. I'm being convinced every single day that's a code word for antibacterial. It's interesting they do talk about insulin resistance, though... kind of implies there's an association between bacteria and insulin resistance...

I always thought diabetes Type 2 was a glucose overload phenomenon, even though I originally suspected it had a bacterial component since it seems like most of the major western diseases do. Maybe it really does have a bacterial component... hmm.... the question is how...

Does bacteria have a way of shutting down genes linked to insulin resistance?

 

[swbluto]

Swbluto wrote:
Anyway, doing some calorie growing estimates for the "top" calorie crops.

Sweet potatoes are 500 calories/m^2 per month, average.

8000 sq. ft. = 743 m^2 -> 743 m^2 * 500 calories/ m^2 per month = 371,500 calories per month . Divide by 30 days per month -> 12,383 calories per day.

Peanuts are about 8000 calories per day with 2/3rd the calorie productivity.

Ok, so this land possibly has pretty good potential to keep me fed if I so desired. With the crop growing winter being 2 months long, it seems like I don't really have to store crops that long as more norther neighbors. Also, since a greenhouse adds a few weeks to the beginning of the season and at the end of a season, a greenhouse would make it productive year round, no need to store crops.

Gonna eat sweet potatoes all the time? Wow, what a meal!

Confused again. So how big is this forest? 8,000 sq ft is kinda big for your lot if you plan on a green house, driveway and a shed, isn't it?
Maybe I got it wrong, your lot/forest is 4 acres or 1/4 acre?

Dan

The lot size is 75ftx150ft, but I have 20 feet of ditch/road space in front of me that's not /really/ mine (utility easements, etc.), but in practice (No powerlines, no nothing in this area), it is, lol. My driveway is in that 20 ft space, so that leaves the whole 75ftx150ft to do what I want with. Like, get my RV on it, get a shed, put in a greenhouse that covers up some of the more tropical crops from November to early march. The first 40 feet of property is my RV/front foliage, leaving the back 110 feet to do what I want with for crops/etc. 75ftx110 = 8250 feet, but I'm going to assume 250 sq. ft should cover the shed and water barrels in the back, leaving 8000 square feet for crops and access paths.

Anyway, I haven't really planned my tropical crops just yet, but I'm thinking about...

Sweet potato (main source of calories)
Bananas
Papaya
Watermelons
Tomatos
Peanuts (Not sure if I should get this in/out of the greenhouse... it just seems like peanuts should grow well in spring-like conditions in the winter... during the summer, they should probably be out of the greenhouse.

Those aren't trees, so that should be easier to contain in a greenhouse. I might get a lime tree, if I can find them somewhere in this area, lol.

Anyway...

let's think of this tropical zone thing a little more.

So, for someone at 20 degrees north (north end of the tropics; where southern hawaii is.), the sun is at a 40 degree angle during peak of winter. That implies an equivalent time of the year for someone at 30 degrees north(me) would be when the sun is 10 degrees off its mean (It varies from 20 degrees to -20 degrees through the year at the equator.). The question is... when is that?

Screw it, I'll just use this simulator, lol.

http://www.suncalc.org/

For me, that would be Oct 17...

And...

Feb 24th...

So, to maintain tropical sun conditions (in terms of weather, not necessarily actual sun exposure. If I wanted equivalent sun exposure during the winter, I'd likely have to add "grow lights" being powered by something. Being powered by the sun just sounds like a stupid idea, lol. If I just happened to have free energy potential, like a windmill or watermill, etc., I would definitely think it'd be a great idea to power 'grow lights' with that energy since it's free and not being used for anything better. Gasoline sources is just ridiculous.)... I would have to erect the greenhouse somewhere between Oct17-Feb24th. Since temperatures seem to carry "inertia", as compared to sun position, likely from Late November to Late February.

Anyway, the main argument for sweet potatos as a main source of calories comes from...

1) with salt added, it's freaking delicious, lol.
2) Boiled sweet potatos have a really low GI, leaving someone full longer, less prone to hypoglycemia, and having a less tendency to feed the bacteria populations with glucose. It also has a bit more fiber than russet potatos and the like. [This is NOT true of russet potatos. Boiled potatos have a pretty high GI, likely due to having half the fiber of sweet potatos.]
3) It's among the highest calorie density crops out there, rivaling corn. In turn, that means it's one of the most promising crops to keep me from going hungry, lol. Fruit trees are great, but they just don't have the capacity to keep me fed through the week with their relatively low caloric area density. They have to devote extra energy/materials to tree growth, something that sweet potatos and other root crops don't have to.
3) And, the historical okinawans subsisted off of it.

I think I might get a bed setup in a greenhouse for those really cold nights, lol. It's ridiculous how cold it can be at night here, and then be so warm the next day.

http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Love-of-U-S-food-shortening-Okinawans-lives-2397590.php

After long ranking No. 1 in life expectancy in Japan, or near the top, Okinawa's men have plummeted in recent years to No. 26, a spot that has put them ignominiously in the bottom half of Japan's 47 administrative regions. Okinawa's women are still No. 1, but they too are almost certain to slip over the next decade, experts warn.
The fall has coincided, not surprisingly, with Okinawans' emergence as Japan's fattest people. Perhaps equally unsurprising is that waists have widened as Okinawans, ruled directly by the United States from the end of World War II to 1972, have, of all Japanese, most closely adopted the American lifestyle of cars, suburban malls and fast food.

Yep, eating wheat and refined/processed carbs will certainly do that. Sedentarianism probably also plays a role. Suspect it causes vascular atrophy much the same way as anorexia, though clearly not as severely/quickly. But, yes, take the extreme of sedentarianism, i.e., get someone who's been "still" all their life (paraplegics), many start having vascular problems really early in life (mid-30s usually).

Anyway, today, I saw a butterfly chasing another butterfly. Wow, I thought those guys just bumbled around aimlessly all day, but these two definitely were following a pretty determined path. One was creating the "lose him" path, the other was doing the "follow her" path, lol. Anyway, I thought that was interesting because it reminded me a little bit of what happened in Microcenter, some girl starts chasing me, lol. She didn't chase me too far, I think human reasoning and "norm following" behavior kicks in pretty quickly... (It's not really normal for girls to start chasing guys all across a store, lol.). But, I've recently noticed that lyric motif quite a bit in much of the female trance I listen to. "Chasing relentlessly", "Deep in my mind, I know the truth, but I'm still... running running running...running after yoouuuuooooooouuuu.", lol, so I'm thinking this behavior is actually more common than I thought.

[youtube]dcwtbdZ-kYQ[/youtube]

 

[swbluto]

What the?

Mexican authorities, not wanting to be viewed as compliant to the new U.S. administration, have vowed to boost aid to migrants and returning deportees in a bid to show solidarity with them.

So, if I as an American was living illegally in Britain, and they deported me back to the USA... would the USA be like "We need to get you back to Britain to show defiance to Britain!", lol. Man, these illegal mexican immigrants and their country act like they're awfully entitled. I'd opt to just shoot them on the spot for returning deportees and the country knowingly promoting violation of international law, but that would probably be against international law. That's right, international laws only apply to Anglosaxon countries.

That'd be interesting if we had the death penalty for returning deportees. I wonder if it'd incite war with Mexico... that would be an interesting war. And, I'd probably want to get out of this neighborhood, lol. [It seems like there's a lot of white people here, but just not on this particular street for some reason.]

If white Americans could take over some coastal town down there, I wouldn't mind moving there, lol. Grow me some tropical fruits without a greenhouse, yeah! (On second thought, where I am gives me pretty good flexibility. I can make a greenhouse warmer, but I couldn't make a greenhouse colder in Mexico, so I can grow a wider variety of foods here)

With the trump adminstration enforcing illegal immigration laws, I wonder if they have a box where I can leave an anonymous tip about this multimillionaire living next door. Two mexican guys who can't speak a lick of english, makes me think... they are probably illegals. I'm pretty sure english speaking mexicans get first dibs in the greencard program. And, I'm pretty sure the number of english speaking applicants outnumbers the number of positions open. Pretty sure about that, lol.

Anyway, the latino ATV rider was riding much closer to my encampment than normal. He's the guy who eyeballed my running generator and I suspected as a theft risk, so noticing this, I decided to move the threat level upto to Defcon Alpha. Meaning, generator stays chained up at all hours and van is locked at nightfall. Defense weapons are always at the ready.

 

[Dauntless]

I'm not in LA, I'm a few miles directly north of Disney. Largely a good neighborhood, I suspect it's at the crack house around the block opposite side of the street where they seem to build things and be selling bikes that stole the bike and the moped that were projects from the last few months, but I've never actually seen either at the house. I did catch the one teenager in the act a few years ago but he's grown and moved out now, doubt he's taken anything recently.

So, if I as an American was living illegally in Britain, and they deported me back to the USA... would the USA be like "We need to get you back to Britain to show defiance to Britain!", lol. Man, these illegal mexican immigrants and their country act like they're awfully entitled.

If you were an American in Britain you would be living on some bank account and not working, so they'd want you there at least long enough to spend it all. As for the entitlement, yes, that's exactly how they feel. There was whatever deeding of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah if I understand it right at the time of Mexican Independence from Spain. Not that any of them had anything to do with those regions, except a little bit with California. Then came the Mexican American War. I'm not sure to what extent the U.S. took any territory in that war, but half of what we call Mexico was occupied, the capital fell, but it was a catch and release operation and most if not all remained with Mexico. Then came a land deal where Mexico sold a huge chunk, where at first the U.S. had second thoughts. Think of the old westerns with the fort and the tumbleweeds and the desert farmers, etc. They had to bring in feed for the horses. 'We wanted this because. . . ?'

So eventually, (I understand this took like a century) there evolved this notion that all that mattered to them was that decree from the Spanish King that said they get to have that area and the whole notion of what had gone on since, such as Mexican invasions, their ancestors selling, the newcomers turning the mess into something desirable, etc., just didn't matter to them. (But dang, Chalo had that great idea about trading some chunk of South Texas for Baja. They should have bought that way back when, too.)

Ever had sweet potato fries? Maybe I'll go where I can get some in a few minutes. . . .

 

[swbluto]

Hmmm... so looking more into this bananas being banned from being given to monkeys, because human fruit in the western diet has been evolved to be too sweet (That's not particularly hard to believe).

So, I came across this...

https://www.quora.com/Do-monkeys-get-diabetes-from-eating-too-many-bananas

As information about the many physiological and biochemical events associated with diabetes has accumulated, the basic doctrine that "sugar causes diabetes" has extended itself to whatever the topic of discussion is: "Glucose causes" the death of beta-cells, glucose causes blood vessels to become leaky, glucose causes cells to be unable to absorb glucose, glucose causes the formation of free radicals, glucose impairs immunity and wound healing, but causes inflammation while preventing the "respiratory burst" in which free radicals are produced by cells that cause inflammation, it disturbs enzyme functions, impairs nerve conduction and muscle strength,

Hmmm... I keep seeing /hints/ of bacterial presence in this..

In particular...

-glucose causes the formation of free radical (Seems that free radicals is highly associated with 'antioxidants' which itself is code word for antibacterial).

-glucose impairs immunity and wound healing (Staph Aureus Protein A binds to the immune bodies and impairs phagocytosis and effectively supresses the immune system)

-glucose causes inflammation .... by the cells that cause inflammation (That would be bacteria that's causing inflammation. Technically, the immune system initiates the inflammatory response, but the bacteria is what engages the immune system)

And then the rest just seems like it's possibly related to bacteria in some way I don't fully understand yet. If staph aureus is implicated in MS by way of the CBXC3 receptor(?) and its associated diseases, then staph aureus is very possibly a cause of neuromuscular impairment somehow.

I don't really know if bacteria is the true explanation to diabetes Type 2... but this particular paragraph strongly hints of it. I've suspected it in the past, but past investigations didn't seem to suggest bacterial involvement. But...

Hmmm....

let's see...

What's the relationship between garlic consumption and diabetes?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19627203

Seems like no association between garlic and diabetes, but there is for onions.

What about cocoa?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26824673

There seems to be diabetes preventative affect with cocoa. The author admits the reason is unknown.

What about flaxseed?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561065

It seems flaxseed has a preventative affect for Type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, they hypothesize...

SDG treatment reduced the incidence of diabetes using serum glucose levels by 75% in the streptozotocin model of diabetes and by 72% in the BBdp rat model of diabetes. These reductions in development of diabetes were associated with decreases in oxidative stress measured by serum and pancreatic malondialdehyde (MDA).

Notice they talk about reducing "oxidative stress". Anti-oxidants is an established codeword for antibacterial.

Hmmm... I think I just found the answer...

IT IS BACTERIA!

But, it causes it in a peculiar way.

See... when the refined/processed carbs are ingested... it converts quickly to sugars/glucose in the digestive tract causing bacterial populations to explode. Staph Aureus in particular probably amplifies the immune response, causing the release of cortisol to regulate the immune response. Well, cortisol has a unique property to it in addition to vasoconstriction: Gluceogenesis. It converts lipids and proteins into blood sugar, so the cortisol response causes blood sugar levels to skyrocket. This action is probably what damages the beta cells. It's not necessarily dietary glucose that causes diabetes, but probably the bacteria which causes the immune reaction and release of cortisol, and cortisol's affects in particular, that causes diabetes.

If this is true... then, other things associated with cortisol should be tied to diabetes.

For example, anxiety. Are anxiety disorders associated with diabetes?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17188118

Individuals reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety at baseline had increased risk of onset of type 2 diabetes at 10-year follow-up.

Indeed, it is.

Wow, did I just solve what causes Diabetes Type 2? I almost think I did. Wow, that one has eluded me for some time. Cortisol causes it, and both anxiety/depression/stress and dietary bacteria causes cortisol release. Oxytocin, the "bonding" neurochemical, can counteract the affects of cortisol thus reducing its diabetes-inducing affects. So, basically, have good social connections and keep the dietary bacteria in check -> less risk of diabetes. Exercise probably helps with the stress related cortisol control somehow.

If you're lonely, getting a dog may just help prevent diabetes type 2.

This is so interesting. I always thought "carbs = post meal blood sugar", but since cortisol is involved in the immune response to bacteria, it's actually... post meal blood sugar = carbs + bacteria

That is to say, the ultra high blood sugar levels that wheat gives isn't necessarily because wheat is particularly high in GI or because the increase in the junction gap size increases the rate of nutrient/glucose absorption. The ultra high blood sugar levels are caused by the opening of the intestinal lining such that small bacteria, in particular staph aureus, can gain access to the blood stream causing an aggravated immune response and thus cortisol release, which the bacteria-caused cortisol release is what causes wheat's ultra high blood sugar affects, above and beyond its nominal "Gi load" predicted blood sugar affects.

I do wonder... if wheat+red-wine has a lower blood sugar than wheat alone, despite the fact that red wine adds a little glucose? This would be telling of the strong role bacteria plays post-meal blood sugar levels via cortisol. I do believe I have read that red wine 'helps regulate blood sugar levels'... yes... probably by controlling bacteria...

Well, here's a study.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/14/448311831/diabetes-study-adds-evidence-that-a-glass-of-wine-is-good-for-you

"Since both red and white wine were beneficial in terms of blood sugar lowering — it does seem to rather neatly and very cleverly — tie the benefit in probably to alcohol rather than wine itself,"

So, yes, red wine does lower blood sugar levels despite the fact its adding glucose and sucrose to the meal and itself is not impairing the absorption of nutrients/carbs like fat would. It does this by reducing the bacterial populations and thus the cortisol response. A lessened cortisol response = less blood sugar and less vasoconstriction->less post-meal blood pressure.

 

[fechter]

But you need some of those bacteria to be healthy. If you kill them all, it's bad.

Check this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora

Some human gut microorganisms benefit the host by fermenting dietary fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetic acid and butyric acid, which are then absorbed by the host.[3][6] Intestinal bacteria also play a role in synthesizing vitamin B and vitamin K as well as metabolizing bile acids, sterols, and xenobiotics.[2][6] The systemic importance of the SCFAs and other compounds they produce are like hormones and the gut flora itself appears to function like an endocrine organ,[6] and dysregulation of the gut flora has been correlated with a host of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.[3][7]

And there's a lot of them. Billions..

As a consequence of their abundance in the intestine, bacteria also make up to 60% of the dry mass of feces.

The effect on the endocrine system is not well understood but very real. It has a lot to do with type II diabetes.

 

[swbluto]

But you need some of those bacteria to be healthy. If you kill them all, it's bad.

I don't think antibiotic foods kill /all/ the bacteria; in particular, I think most of the antibiotic foods have their action in the mouth/stomach/small-intestine, and then get absorbed before moving onto the large intestine, so there's probably still plenty of microbes to go around by the time we get to the large intestine and eventually the colon. My poop still smells a /little/ bit, albeit, much less strongly than before.

Now, if you're taking /real/ antibiotics, which kills /all/ the microbes everywhere, including the large intestine and colon, that obviously causes well known problems, like C. Difficile infections. So far, I don't think anyone has encountered a C. Difficile infection from eating antiobiotic foods regularly. For example, native tropical people seems to have no problem with it despite eating coconuts all the time. The traditional greeks have no problem with despite habitual garlic and red wine consumption. The french don't have a problem with it despite their penicillium cheese and red wine consumption. Dietary antibiotic foods clearly don't kill all the bacteria like real antibiotics do, so I don't think there is a risk of having an 'unbalanced' microbiome by regular antiobiotic food consumption.