A couple of notes on inflation to begin the day. I have been cleaning up the office and the shop, so there were three old tube caddies – of the sort the TV repairman used to lug around. they had tubes in them, but nothing of any value there. I spent a couple of hours trying to see if any of my equipment used them. The odd compactron and typical TV tubes, but nothing of interest.
An old microwave was in the mix – it bit the dust and was waiting for a “dump ride.” In addition, there was also a medium computer (frame) with memory and drives stripped out.
Dumpe fees? Came to $35 plus tax. Gads! Less than a yard (27 cu ft) of material in all.
OK, while the nitro took effect, I wandered up to Lowe’s. Where I stacked nine 2-by-4’s in the back of the truck. That was less than $33-bucks with tax.
Got home, unloaded it all. And the rest of the day went (as it was a work day) into the typical fog of work. But I was struck with material prices being low (for wood, relatively) while dump fees have gone moonward.
Along about 4 PM the Major called. He was on his way back from the big Seattle Mic and Key (ham radio) club “swap meet” that was on at the Puyallup fair grounds. On his way back home – this is his 17th year helping with set-up for the event – he pulled into a McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. “I only splurge like this once every three of four months…” he apologized.
“How much?” he asked at the drive-through.
“That’ll be $3.51.”
“WHAT????”
He was shocked. Last year, about the same time, the price was 89-cents. I didn’t ask if it was Canadian milk, or not.
Ants
Takes about 3-4 days to really take effect, but those “ant stakes” from Terro on Amazon work very well.
I spent a while putting them around the spring’s first rash of fire ant piles.
Not terribly expensive, but they do take a few days to kill off the colony. The 12 packs work out to just over a buck a stake so can’t bitch about it. They seem to work well. We will likely put new ones in two or three times a season.
5G SmartMeter Shielding
One of the projects that will get done this weekend is installation of a “smart meter shield.” Talking to my doctor friends, they tell me that a lot of people may be having reactions to the 5G radiation but some conditions develop over time. Part of the problem is that initial work says 5G is safe, but there’s more to it: Long-term use studies are lacking because the technology is so new.
An AI of the field reveals:
“The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) have reviewed decades of research and set safety guidelines for RF exposure, which 5G networks comply with. A 2021 systematic review by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) found no substantiated evidence that low-level RF exposure (below these guidelines) affects heart rhythm or other health outcomes.
That said, some theoretical concerns exist. Extremely high RF exposure—well beyond what 5G infrastructure emits—can cause thermal effects (tissue heating), which might indirectly stress the cardiovascular system in lab settings. But real-world 5G levels are orders of magnitude lower. Another angle: patients with implanted cardiac devices (e.g., pacemakers) might worry about electromagnetic interference (EMI). Studies, like those from the FDA and Heart Rhythm Society, show modern pacemakers are designed to resist EMI from cell phones and towers, including 5G frequencies, with no significant risk under typical use.”
My friends caution me that adverse studies – when you’re dealing with a huge business lobby such as 5G – can pull the plug on most research in advance if it’s headed in an “adverse finding” direction. What’s more, populations of “RF sensitive people” ad a different deal.
And this gets us to EHS – Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS, microwave syndrome) – Review of mechanisms – PubMed
From the Abstract:
” Many hypersensitive patients appear to have impaired detoxification systems that become overloaded by excessive oxidative stress. EMF can induce changes in calcium signaling cascades, significant activation of free radical processes and overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living cells as well as altered neurological and cognitive functions and disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Magnetite crystals absorbed from combustion air pollution could have an important role in brain effects of EMF. Autonomic nervous system effects of EMF could also be expressed as symptoms in the cardiovascular system. Other common effects of EMF include effects on skin, microvasculature, immune and hematologic systems. It is concluded that the mechanisms underlying the symptoms of EHS are biologically plausible and that many organic physiologic responses occur following EMF exposure. Patients can have neurologic, neuro-hormonal and neuro-psychiatric symptoms following exposure to EMF as a consequence of neural damage and over-sensitized neural responses. More relevant diagnostic tests for EHS should be developed. Exposure limits should be lowered to safeguard against biologic effects of EMF. Spread of local and global wireless networks should be decreased, and safer wired networks should be used instead of wireless, to protect susceptible members of the public. Public places should be made accessible for electro-hypersensitive individuals.”
OK, so that’s the problem, now what to do about it?
We do have one unusual constraint being out here in the woods and having a fairly sophisticated surveillance network and mandatory smart metering for our grid-interactive solar. Simply telling the power company to remove the smart meter is not and option.
So I began with a site survey: From the meter location to our bedroom:
The black square will be the size of a pure copper mesh, which will be about 58″ inches wide and 3-feet tall and which will be attached to the house on the left and propped out from the house at the angled black line.
Once built and installed, a low resistance copper ground will be run to the common point for bedroom grounding. This ground includes things like grounded bed sheets and pillowcases.
Over at The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases – PMC we get the idea that there is more than quackery involved in this “body grounding” stuff. Especially this part.
“
Grounding appears to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, increase heart rate variability, speed wound healing, and reduce blood viscosity. A summary has been published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health…
“Effects on sleep
One of the first published grounding studies examined the effects of grounding on sleep and circadian cortisol profiles.5 The study involved 12 subjects who were in pain and had problems sleeping. They slept grounded for 8 weeks using the system shown in Figure 4. During this period, their diurnal cortisol profiles normalized, and most of the subjects reported that their sleep improved and their pain and stress levels declined.”
Other than the 2-by-4’s (and an excuse to run my seldom-used Mortising Machine) the only other material besides a couple of hinges and a hook, or two, will be the copper screen. Which can be stapled onto a wood frame using stainless staples.
The screen is not free ($61 at press time) but it’s a reasonable expense given that it might pay a few dividends in better sleep.
It’s probably a better investment in good sleep than oh, a half-gallon of a good drinkable grown-up Scotch, for example. Though the Scotch has a use case, as well.
Light Crown Project, Anyone?
Long-time subscriber (to PN) whose initials are AL and who lives in Sacked-Demented California had a great idea this week. “I would sure like to have a Light Crown…could you build me one?” No, I carefully explained. That could be construed as a “medical device” and no thank you.
“BUT, on the other hand,” I told him, “As a ShopTalk Sunday project” we might be able to build such a device.” I would have to tell you that building a red light device to wear on your head is pure quackery and that the over hundreds of devices in Clinical Trials Search for: Other terms: lllt | Card Results | ClinicalTrials.gov is…um…only mentioned out of academic interests.
On the other hand, BECAUSE I AM CRAZY, pay not mind next week if there’s a parts list and some photos of what I’m assembling, got it?
Helmet form? Cheap. Like this one for under $16 bucks. Take everything out of the inside.
And a roll of red LED lights? Like this?
Well, let’s do more on that next week. Oh, a bottle of Clear UV-setting resin, $25, while you’re at it. And a UV curing light. And if you want to do pulsed light? Well, something like this? And a cheap adjustable power supply…
Subscriber AL wanted something that would be like an old Heathkit build-it-yourself. If you don’t mind having it in a couple of parts, then yeah, we can do that.
Write when you get rich,
[email protected] ac7x
Read the full article here