I spent the summer of 1970 in Tampa Matt. I don’t want to insult anyone’s state but I call that my Season in Hell. If you don’t mind snow then West Michigan ain’t bad. Seldom real hot or real cold, bugs not too bad, plenty of fresh water. No hurricanes or red tides. I don’t remember if it’s the winter or water wonderland. 
10 Likes
I lived in South Florida as well. I lived in Pompano Beach and watched " COPS " filmed live many times in our nigihbor hood. LOL. Helicopters flying around over our house and everything lol. Worked in Boca Ratone for custom cabinet shop. Its how I lost the tip of my finger.
12 Likes
Tom,
Growing up in Meeshigan, I remember a license plate that stated: “Winter-Water Wonderland” or something like that. 
8 Likes
They changed it back the new plates say " winter wonderland "
Its definatly a wonderland for sure. Gee I wonder what the weather will be today? Will Detroit go to the Super Bowl? Will He… < if you are from Mich you know what rest was going say. lol
7 Likes
Fighting off a kidney stone. Never fun. Tried to tough it out and went to work, that lasted about 3 hours.
Bright side is it’s not as bad as my first one! It’s just a ride I don’t wanna be on ever again. I’ve sworn off sodas since my first one so I don’t understand how I got this one.
8 Likes
It isn’t soda. It is water that you need to drink and lots of it. Probably 2x as much as you are used to.
7 Likes
You’re right. I drink about a half gallon at work most of the time. It can’t be the well water, Mom’s never had a stone.
4 Likes
They recommend 104oz or 3/4+ of a gallon a day for the average adult male. Increase that substantially if you sweat a lot at your job, which I think you do.
6 Likes
A doctor prescribed 3 beers a day to a coworker of mine when he had stones 
8 Likes
Oxalate may contribute to kidney stones
Normally, calcium and small amounts of oxalate are present in the urinary tract at the same time, but they remain dissolved and cause no problems.
However, sometimes they bind to form crystals. In some people, these crystals can lead to the formation of stones, especially when oxalate is high and urine volume is low (1Trusted Source).
Small stones often don’t cause any problems, but large stones can cause severe pain, nausea, and blood in the urine as they move through the urinary tract.
Although there are other types of kidney stones, about 80% are made up of calcium oxalate (6Trusted Source).
For this reason, people who have had one episode of kidney stones may be advised to minimize their consumption of foods high in oxalate (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).
However, across-the-board oxalate restriction is no longer recommended for every person with kidney stones. This is because half of the oxalate found in urine is produced by the body rather than absorbed from food (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
Most urologists now prescribe a strict low oxalate diet (less than 100 milligrams per day) only for patients who have high levels of oxalate in their urine (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
Therefore, it’s important to be tested from time to time to figure out how much restriction is necessary.
Rhubarb and spinach are both high in oxalic acid. If you are prone to getting stones then is is good to limit consumption. You can look up other dietary sources of oxalates as well. Everything natural is not necessarily healthy for everyone.
11 Likes
Exactly all true TomH.
My wife has suffered greatly from kidney stones off and on for 10 years now. She’s tough and endures through a lot of pain . . . but finally the nausea and vomiting reaction gets her.
Twice surgery to go up in and break up stones. The second time was the early spring of 2020 in the hospital restrictions early era.
I seached up and bought a very thick foods and cook book for low oxalates living. Lots of outright no-no’s and restriction of some of her favorite things. Many were fresh garden “greens”.
There is also a big parma chelation? anti-chelation? daily pill medication that can be pursued.
Why not?
The restrictive diet or pill/medication are only ~10-15% effective for those with this developed tendency.
Drinking lots and lots of bottled or filtered flushing water daily has been the most helpful of all for her. Allowing her to more freely eat.
Steve Unruh
9 Likes
About the chelation SteveU. Should be no surprise by now that I think that the powers that be put a great deal of effort into keeping the populous weak, more easily controlled and dependent on big pharma. Just prophylactic-ally I take a week a month regimen of EDTA. Mainly to counter the effects of our chem-trail polluted skies. Too weird? Never had a choice. I was born weird.
7 Likes
My wife (Tracy) has been dealing with vien compression issues for sevrel years now.(recently discovered)
The pain and discomfort are compounding and new symptoms continue to show up. Its been very discouraging, no one could find anything wrong with her and they try to tell her its all in her head.
She has had to be her own advocate/doctor and threw hundreds of hours of research on her own she self diagnosed herself with multiple compressions. I.e. illiac vien compression (may-thurner) , renal vien compression (nut cracker), and possibly others.
We have attempted to get get mri, ct, vienograms in our local area but even after getting a doctor to order them, the reports do not come back indicating anything.
These are not very common conditions and it seams only specialist dealing with these specific compression issues can properly diagnose and or treat these.
She has been in contact with specialist in Colorado, Maryland, and Wisconsin. Recently took a four day trip to the University of Wisconsin for a bunch of testing. (They have a kidney program there)
After thier tests she finaly got recognition and a diagnosis of over 75% compression of the left kidneys vien and over 75% compression of the Iliac vien.
Today they called to say their pannel of doctors approved her for a transplant surgery to remove her left kidney and put it on her right side.
She is thankful she finally has a diagnosis. But wishes she could find one place that will treat all of the compressions rather than run to 2 or 3 different specialist located in different states.
As far as the kidney vien compression, she is leaning toward just removing and donating the kidney. The recovery time is considerably shorter.
My wife says she use to believe that if she was ever sick she could go to the doctor and get beter but this whole process has coused her to lose faith in the medical system and feals sorry for elderly or other people that cant advocate for themselves.
We continue to pray for guidance, her recovery and a better quality of life for her.
Just wanted to say i havent given up on my truck, I’m on DOW daily! Between this and the Christmas season there just hasnt been enough time.
But im itching to replace the head gaskets and get back to DOW!!
19 Likes
Hi All
A bit house bound here due to the regional area freezing iced roads.
The stuck at home Wife has different tastes in TV watching than me . . .
Far too cold still to go out in the Shop for long . . .
So I dig out to find some like this one (with head phones):
to 5:00 minutes are cylinder head bolts
5:00 → 6:45 are wheels lugs&nuts, and wheel bolts
9:45 starts the explaining need for pre-load stretch tightening
12:30 explaining the newer now way/why for degree angle (turn-of–nut) tightening
13:00 is new to me. ways truly space-age
14:25 why/how joints can age and fail
15:25 calls out the need for re-torque checking after time in service
Saved my ass with the last set of bought steel winter wheels mis-manufactured for the wife’s car. Re-torque checking and getting reoccurring turning by the third time in three weeks told me to jerk them off and make changes Now!!
S.U.
11 Likes
“Everything natural is not necessarily healthy for everyone.”
Exactly. But the thing we as modern humans forgot is to listen to our selves. If some food doesent make you feel good, well DONT eat it! Its that simple. And if something tastes good but the inner voice says its bad for you, well, dont eat it. Too much. I admit its hard to fight off some junk food once in a while…
Edit: and also, things change. I found its best not to be marryed to your diet. It just depends, and can change based on bodys needs.
16 Likes
I meant to mention Cody, that I’ve had kidney stones three times in my life and it was always during times of extreme stress. The last time when we were going through the bankruptcy of our business in 2009. There was definitely a correlation.
12 Likes
Hi All
I phoned my sister down in the central coastal Oregon mountains this evening.
Six days without Grid power now due to two boughts of freezing rain.
Lots of trees down from winds and ice, taking out power lines.
She is 10 1/2 gallons gasoline used now in her Honda 2000 inverter generator.
Her primary heat is a mini-split heat pump. No-go there.
She had retained her pellet stove. Had a ton of bagged wood pellets.
The Honda 2000 runs the pellet stove; a few LED table lamps; her satellite dish and TV; recharges her electronics.
She has been alternating the pellet stove powering with foods refrigerator cycling.
I told her to courage-up and try both together. The Honda would just loads kick-out if a problem.
I’ve done this many times on the wife’s. A very electronics durable piece of equipment.
Ha! I ask her if she’s been checking the generators engine oil . . .
Had to give her a phone tutorial. Then a how to change oil, come soon. She’s handy and not afraid to get down and dirty. Has to be living rural fishing camp river side.
Her shallow well pump needing a heat lamp in the winter has now frozen. On the one 2 hour power restore it would just hum but no water. That’s gonna be serious to fix I expect.
Was me got her onto a suitcase woman packable personal inverter generator.
The big’en her now deceased husband had sits unused. I checked and too big to be small. Too small to power their well pump. Ran as many hours as she has now it would have been at least 30 gallons of gasoline.
Think through ahead of needs times folks.
Then choose wisely.
I am winter re-reading a found bought $2.00 copy of Ted Koppel’s 2015 “Lights Out” book.
Him a grandfather retired setting up for adult children and grand children as a 60 day Grid-down refuge. A really big propane tank. And an un-ID’d generator.
Regards
Steve Unruh
15 Likes
We would just put stuff outside in chests or grab ice and put in the fridge. 
The home backup power is an issue, it is part of the reason why California mandated batteries and solar for new homes. Then people have some power during emergencies. Add a small generator, which they banned, and that can fill up the battery bank rather then needing a huge whole house generator. They just got a bit ahead of themselves and are planning on vehicle to grid tech to keep the lights on, but forgot even though they have batteries on wheels which works, but forgot if the grid is down, charging stations are down as well.
8 Likes