Chemex

This last weekend I used a 40% discount coupon from my local (Seattle-based) Metropolitan Market which they give regular customers (freebies or discounts for each week for a month 2-3 times a year) to buy a 6-cup Chemex drip coffee maker.

I've always wondered about the Chemex claim their filters reduce the bitterness in coffee over other drip filter brands. I've long used Melitta filters since buying a Melitta Vintage coffee maker in the mid-1980's (two repairs to date), along with using their standard 1, 2 and 6 cup drip coffee system.

So, twice (separate days) I made pots with the Chemex system and a comparable Melitta system. I use a Braun coffee grinder (burr type with a 1-16 scale set for 3) with Starbucks Kopelani coffee.  I use espresso grind because it reduces the amount of coffee you need per cup and still not clog filters.

And the very subjective taste test results for the two type two times were the same. The Chemex-made coffee had just a slightly less bitter taste than the Melitta-made coffee. Slight enough for me to barely taste the difference, maybe more for some and less for others depending on your taste sensitivity.

So my initial conclusion is that it does make a difference which changes the taste just a bit, but it is worth for the price of the Chemex and filters (about $9-10 per box of 100)? Maybe, if you want to have one, but not if you don't need one unless it's on sale or for a discount.

Measuring Rivers

I won’t deny I have problems with heights, looking down gives me nausea, but one thing I love is being in a cablecar on a cableway strung across a river, the wider the better, high above the flowing water, the faster the flow the better. I loved streamggaging for the USGS, especially the big rivers with the high cableway, to spend and hour or more going across and measuring the width, depth and velocity to compute a discharge (flow), and sometimes take a moment in the middle to just sit and feel the quiet place. 

I was only worried once during my career, when measuring Blue Creek above Hills Creek Resevoir, Oregon during a flood when I could hear boulders the size of cars (seen in followup measurements) rolling along the bed, moved by the the high velocity, realizing even with a floatation jacket (safety requirement) I wouldn’t survive if I fell in the river. The cableway and towers were well above the river, but it occurred to me when I took that moment to watch and listen to the loud sounds of those boulders I couldn’t see due to the high sediment flow but had a reality check on the power of rivers, no matter how seemingly small.

And of all the hundreds of wading measurements I, some up to the top of my chest waders, I never lost my footing or fell in the creeks or rivers. But there was a time on Gray Creek in the Middle Fork of the Willametter River basin, I had the scare every streamgager has at least once, find yourself in the middle of the creek or river realizing you can move forward across it or go back the bank you started .You were stuck there and this time the during the high flow the rocks on the bed were moving under and around me and started to move me downstream while the flow pushed against the upstream side of my body nudging me down stream too.

After a few minutes I realized I had no choice but to go forward with two possibilities, one I’d lose it and become part fhe flow to extracate myself out safely, or two, I’d be ok and get across, and then come back to make the measurement. The latter prevailed as I realized I was in the deepest and swiftest part of it and still standing, meaning I could finish it, which I did, and without getting wet except for the rain.

It’s the conundrums each of us have and live with.

Authority

I've always had problems with authority, from the time Dad kicked out of the house for disappointing him in my first year of engineering college when I wasn't meant to be an engineer in the first place, and later went on to get BA and MS degrees in Geography.

What triggered this reaction was when I enlisted in the US Air Force March 7, 1969, after the University of Denver asked, but not prohibit, me not to return to enroll, and passing my Army physical and being classified 1-A, knowing the draft lottery would be too late to avoid the draft.

In preparation to starting basic training I went to the barber and got an "approved" military haircut, but after getting to basic training at Lackland, AFB, outside San Antonio, TX, they gave me another haircut which I had to pay.

Yeah, that's the rule, but something struck a dischord against the authoritarian manner how the rule was applied, and while I got through basic training just putting my head down and minding my own business to get through it, the feeling never went away.

I was not cut out for any organization that was so authoritarian. Later in my military service I went through the initial proceedings to determine if they should initiate the court-martial proceedure against me for making an off-hand comments to a senior NCO who was in another organization.

I won't comment on what I said, but a full colonel, the unit commander, who had 2 years in Vietnam, represented me, and they decided against the court-martial process, but imposed a 6 month ban for consideration for promotion, which I accepted because I didn't qualify for the cycle to be promoted.

The irony there was that I did make the next cycle for promotion, unfortunately I would be discharged before I could actually be promoted, but then the same people offered me the promotion and a $10,000 bonus to re-enlist because almost all the lower rank NCO's in the unit were leaving. Hey it was the early 1970's.

Anyway, I went on to get the degrees on the GI Bill and have a good, but could be better, career with USGS, but I never lost the "Question Authority" attitude I had, even when I retired, choosing my own date than being forced to accept one made by my boss.

You see my boss threatened to demote and reassign me for disagreeing with him over my job performance. I always had excellent evaluations and promoted as soon as I was eligible, but I got a boss who was 15 year younger and never worked in the part of the USGS I spent my career.

Yeah, old senior technical, often supervisory, manager with a new, inexperienced senior manager. Not a good fit for me, and we always disagreed over my job and work, which I had been doing and was respected by regional and headquarters, even being on national commitees and an organizational "resource" person.

The issue reached a head when I appealed the evaluation to the region, going over the head of the boss for the water resouces division in the agency in the state. That engaged the ire of our boss too, but the region personnel office reversed the evaluation, changing it to excellent and chastising my bos and our boss for their actions.

His boss had to accept the reversal and apologize for it, or face reprimands for their actions against me. It was a good feeling knowing I won, but it effectively ended my career for the last 2-3 years I had planned to work, but decided to retire earlier on my schedule than theirs.

Anway, after retiring, I joined a few messsage boards to stay connected to a variety of personal interests, and while message boards are often privately run, not Yahoo-type just administered under company rules, I often expressed views counter to the administrator or moderators. Yeah, deja vu all over again.

I'm not outspoken or extremist. I just believe members have the right to question the rules and the moderators and administrators. But they don't think so, and so I got ejected from one message board for proving the hypocrisy of the administrator for allowing some members more freedom of speech than others.

And now I've been effectively censored by another for questioning why a thread on guns and the shooting in Orlando where everyone was civil and respectful was closed shortly after it was started and many members didn't have the chance to post their view.

I posted a general statement against these types of arbitrary decision on the personal judgement of the administrators, which as promptly removed and was sent an e-mail, "this message forum is not a democracy..." And so I posted again with a note I'm taking a hiatus from the board.

And I did the old George Burns and Gracie Allen exit and left the board, but keeping my membership to come back sometime in the future, which is the second time I've left, the last for about 3 years only to find nothing changed when I returned.

And as the old adage goes, there's no third time, because you will almost always succeed, meaning leaving the board by removing my membership which I'm keeping in mind to do if/when return. I only visit it every few weeks so it's not that important to me.

And the exit? At the end of the show there was one short exchange:

George: "Say goodnight Gracie."
Gracie: "Goodnight Gracie."

Yeah, best ending there ever was by two of the best.

Amazon

Does Amazon suck or what? Really. I went to buy some nibs for my Wacom Bamboo (2nd gen) stylus. Wacom was out of stock and Amazon was the only major on-line supply store with them in stock. Ok, I order a few packets of 3 nibs per packet, and it comes back I can’t buy it because the order isn’t over $25 and I’m not enrolled in their primier shipping service. 

So I raise the order so it’s over $25 and they charge $8 for shipping for a product that costs all of $2 at most for shipping via USPS. Then it says it can’t complete the order because the product isn’t eligible for shpping. So I order a 2nd generation pen for $9 and the nibs for the stylus I have and the one I ordered.

Ok, it accepts it and still charges $8 for shipping that now costs $3 at most for shipping, but it took it the order and my credit card. At least I get the nibs. And then I do what I always do after buying on Amazon, and recommend to anyone, delete your credit card(s) on your account, so they don’t have it. You may trust them but I don’t because of a bad experience with a third party market company which did a bait and switch on a product that took a month to resolve and credited to my card for the charge. So I always remove it after every confirmed order.

So, to me, that’s why Amazon sucks.

For What

Today I spent two hours travelling to a doctor’s appointment, to get there early as they demand, and then meet with the doctor for 10 minutes, half of the time was a lecture about what he wanted me to do, dismissing what I came to talk about and get help resolving a medical problem, to hear, “Thank you, follow the advice, and come back in a month.”, and then pointed at the front desk. For what I kept asking myself driving home. For what. Nothing resolved and advice I already know won’t work, but you have to prove it because some doctors don’t want to listen to their patients. They’ve already decided what’s best without hearing them. And for this you pay. For what I keep asking myself.

Anger

The hardest thing when you have a medical condition doctors and specialists can’t identify - meaning no cause, no diagnosis, and no treatment - is being so angry at them you can only take out on yourself for feeling so stupid to trust them to cure the problem and heal you. And you can’t express your anger with them because they can’t, and sometimes won’t, do anything and only treat you worse because you expressed your frustration at the whole medical system and them. 

Don’t they understand and follow the Hypocratic oath to first do no harm, when doing nothing is harm, and to keep trying is what they’re supposed to do, to help the patient become better? So you take your anger out on yourself for feeling so stupid to trust them, and violate the same oath about yourself to yourself, first do no harm, because you’re the only person who’ll listen and understand. They won’t and don’t. 

You’re the only one your anger sees. You’re the one who expresses it and receives it, knowing how misplaced it is, but who else is there? 

Starbucks Final

Final thought.--- This morning Spotify finally worked on the Starbucks app to show the song playing in the Starbucks, both in the dashboard and in the music (click on music icon in upper right corner). And it didn't take their wifi to work, just LTE. Enuf said from me.

Orignal Post.-- Ok, enough about Starbucks, which I can say because I finally got an intelligent answer from their customer representative about why the information about current song playing at any Starbucks you visit wasn't being displayed on the Starbucks app.

Here is part of the response:

"Some of our stores are equipped with technology through the Starbucks Digital Network. If you're in one of these locations and are connected to our in-store Wi-Fi, the song currently playing will be displayed with the option to purchase it through iTunes.  If you've left the welcome page, it can be found at digital.starbucks.com. Unfortunately this is not available in all stores, but we are constantly working to make this functionality more robust!"

This explains a lot, and here's the rest of their response:

"Here are some tips to get this feature to work on your App:
- Make sure that the location service is enabled;
- New music features within the Starbucks App will automatically show you what's "Now Playing" and "Recently Played" in participating Starbucks stores.
- Starbucks customers will need a Spotify account to save or create Spotify playlists.
- You must have a Spotify account to play music and must connect your Starbucks and Spotify Free or Premium accounts to save music."

This means that Starbucks released an app with software features they didn't have the technology in place to work. Along with all the other problems Starbucks have had with their app, it's clear they're resolving them, but it's also clear they released it too early to initiate the new rewards program, with untested and known bugs, assuming any customer problems won't hurt customer loyalty.

And it's clear, just from my experience, they're customer service, while good isn't great and why they handed out a lot of stars and credits, and are offering frequent additional stars for more purchases. That said, it doesn't change much for me, and in fact, makes me use other cafes more often now for the higher priced drinks.

I'll still go to Starbucks, in part because it's the halfway point on my daily walk which has a good Doppio con Panna (tried the non-Starbucks cafes) and I will accumulate stars for that and other occasional purchases, but on trips I'll do what I always do first, find a good local cafe and only Starbucks if one isn't around.

Starbuck Again

Update II.-- It turns out the old reward was there after all. The barista today found it when I asked about it, and she discovered you have to enter in the account code twice for the old reward, the first to use earned stars, which the barista did Sunday, and again to see if any old reward(s) were still there, which is was, so I used it.

Kudos goes to both the barista Monday who gave me the free drink and coupon, and the barista today who found the old reward. Since I've used the last to the old rewards, it's now just adding to the stars I earn, all 4 with my Doppio con Panna.

I still haven't gotten Spotify to work on the Starbucks app. It's supposed to show what's playing at Starbucks with your location. It worked before, then didn't work and now after the latest release, still doesn't work. Or, as usual, I'm missing something.

Update.--Yesterday (Sunday) I went to the local Starbucks for the 3 newspapers I buy and I used one reward I had left under the old rewards system, keeping the one (125 stars) I have under the new system. But when I checked my Starbucks this morning for my normal coffee, both rewards were gone, the old missing and my stars reset to 34, the amount I had accured above 125.

The barista explained the barista likely coded in using the stars instead of the old reward but the system used both. Since correcting this would incur another round with Starbucks reps, which I've given up hearing the same story, the barita gave me a free drink and a coupon for some stars.

I'll take it so I don't have to deal their reps again in endless e-mails, which always results, eventually, in them giving me stars or credit, but not worth the hassle anymore. It's clear their system still has problems, which eats customers rewards and stars.

Original Post.-- I wrote about my experience with Starbucks and their new rewards system and iPbone app.  They switched from using visits and purchases to count stars for rewards (free drink(s)) to how much the customer spends, which turns out the break even point is $5, just more than the normal 12 oz drink.

But the majority of customers buy a larger drink or a drink and food, which costs them from $6-10, and where they'll earn more stars and rewards sooner. Folks like me who buy just a regular coffee or a $2 espresso drink lose in the deal where it takes 2.5 times more purchases to earn a reward as before.

That's enough for me not to care about rewards with them anymore. I'll still buy my Doppio con Panna (own cup which gives a 10-cent discount) and use the two rewards and have and the rest whenever I get them. My other complaint was their new system with the new app.

To put it mildly, the app sucks for design and user friendliness. and it was plagued with problems from day one. It lost a reward I earned on the day of the rollout, and they never credited me for it, but gave me 50 starts and a $5 credit on my account.

After that the app kept losing Spotify. I only turn location services on when I use the app, which is almost always when I'm at a Starbucks so they can't track me more than what cafes I visit. In addition the dashboard, the open space for messages, receipts, etc. was always blank except for "Caught up."

They released an update recently which fixed some of the issues, but left one confusing one. The stars are supposed to count to 125 and then credit you with a reward. Except they changed it so the stars just keep adding up and you cash in the stars when and after you reach 125 stars.

In additon they changed the rewards from a 30-day expiration period to a 6-month expiration period for the stars, meaning, as I understand their explanation, the stars will reduce when the oldest reaches 6 months, and continues there after.

So it's use them or lose them. Now that I know that I'll work from there. Since I only use the rewards for occasional special drinks, usually mochas, it's not that important to me anymore. I buy my mochas as other cafes in Tacoma or Gig Harbor, or on trips in Seattle, where they're better and often cheaper, some with better customer rewards programs.

And where pray tell are these cafes? Well there are four excellent local ones, three in Tacoma and one in Gig Harbor (this is correction from the previous entry about these because I forgot one). The best is the Diversions Cafe on the University of Puget Sound campus. And it about a buck and a half cheaper.

The others are a tie. The cafe in the Metropolitan Market in Proctor neighborhood is great and they have a card, buy 12 get 1 free. The other is the Spar Cafe next door to the Spar Pub in Old Town. Great everything about it and it's better than the Starbucks across the street.

The last is the Cutters Point cafe in Gig Harbor just down from Fred Meyer Market. There are two other Cutters Point in the immediate area, one in the Uptown Mall south of Safeway, and one in the Main and Vine Market next to the Starbucks I usually visit. These two are good, the former better, and both better than Starbucks.

So that's the story to date. Starbucks is still the cafe for my turnaround on my morning 6-mile walk but that's about the extent of my business with them anymore, except to use my rewards when I earn them. I'll buy my other coffee drinks at the cafes above.

Turkey Salad

I live on a very restricted diet, mostly because after a lifetime of antibiotics which started at age 3 for Rheutmatic Fever, my digestive system is effectively shot, meaning it's overly sensitive to food, various abnormal bacteria, viruses, flu/colds, OTC and prescription drugs, etc.

It also adversely reacts to prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes and naturapathic supplements. Over the years I've tried 4 diferent probiotics, from single or two types to complete types. I've tried two types of digestive enzymes. Both the probiotics and enzymes make things worse.

It's the mythy gastroenterologist and may digestives specialist make, "Just take probiotics, they replace all the bad bacteria.", which is not true. None of them will replace any bad bacteria you have in your digestive tract and only add more bacteria the system doesn't need or want.

The second myth is prebiotics. The same folks argue it feeds the good bacteria, which is true, but it also feeds the bad bacteria, which, if you notice their statements, they don't mention. You can actually excerbatte a digestive problem with prebiotics, especially if it can't tolerate starch and fiber.

Backto the story. Over the last 5 years, with suggestions from a gastroenterologist, and research published in 2012 about FODMAPS, we started with a very basic diet by eliminating major foods, starting with wheat and grains. The list expanded as I tried foods and added them to the no-eat list.

When all was said and done, I was down to a list you can write on a 4x6 postit note with room for doodles. But it has all the major food groups, covers the range to provide a more or less balanced diet, minus things like starch, fiber, fat, etc.

The list has only two meats, turkey and ham, not pork or bacon, and only organic meat without additional chemicals, especially things like nitrates and nitrites, meaning not the major brands. It used to include some fish and seafood, but were removed after several adverse reactions.

About once a week I have a food experiment meal where I prepare and cook something I haven't tried or something I have tried but had adverse reactions. I give foods three strikes. The first strike puts a waiting period between samples. The second puts it on a longer period. And the third scratches it from the list.

That said, the local Metropolitan Market (Proctor District in Tacoma) sells a locally raised turkeys. I can't recommend local, organic raised poultry enough over all the national brands. If you've tried them you know national brand turkeys are bland, almost tasteless, but local turkeys have a very distinct, tasty flavor, great for anything turkey.

It's a big difference you'll notice and won't buy national brands again. I go through a half breast in about a weke or so depending on the size, but usually stay with the medium ones to ensure it won't spoil before it's fully eaten.

I've also learned how to remove the entire breast in one piece in about five minutes. It's not hard, and only takes one very sharp knife and your fingers, so you have to make sure you wash your hands before starting this job.

The key is to do remove the breast from the bone while it is still slight warm and the meat is a little pliable, which allows it to be removed from the bone with just the ends of your fingers slowly peeling it from the bone and the knife to cut some parts loose, usually around the ends.

It's cool when you see the whole breast in one piece which makes it easy to cut or slice for any need. Ok, the salad. Sometimes I cut about half the breast into small chunks. I add a little salt to taste (you can always add more later), sliced almonds, coconut and mayonaise.

Mix it all together using only enough mayonaise to hold it together. Let it chill for a couple of hours and it's one very tasty salad for anything. You can vary the ingredients, add spices if you want (I can only have salt, not even pepper) or chopped pecans or walnuts if you prefer them.

It's good for about a week if it lasts that long. It's good in wraps, with fresh vegetables, whatever you like. I like to wrap it in slices of sandwich ham or in a corn tortilla. It makes a balanced, nutritious meal for me, using the few foods I can eat.

Food

Food is my enemy. The enemy of my digestive system. I've been seeing gastroenterologists for over six years now after nearly two years of problems. I won't get into what I think of gastroenterologists, except it's fair to say some are good and some aren't, but all of them can't solve many problems with anyone's digestive system.

I've been through nearly every test available to gastroenterologists to diagnose physical and some bacterial problems, all of which found a lot of related problems, but nothing about what's  been causing the problems, which has been a series of bacterial issues.

I use the word infection or overgrowth because it fits the symptoms, but hasn't past any of the tests for known infections and overgrowths, but I've learned those tests only focus on known problems, to which everything else is call Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS.

Which to me translates to them saying, "It Bets the Shit" out of me. And for all the conversations I've had, they, or some of them, recognize the symptoms are consistent with a problemd. The rest just dismiss them and me and prescribe probiotics, like it's the wonder drug on the digestive system.

[Note.-- Have you noticed the doctors and companies selling probiotics, never tell you the side or adverse effects of probiotics? They're not the cure-all for digestive problems, and too often exacerbate problems, as with me after trying 4 different ones.]

Even when they've had sample of the bacteria which clearly is the problem, the best they can do to identify it from the sample is call it "aggregate bacteria", meaning it's one of the many in your digestive tract which likely isn't normally there and they don't exactly know what type.

Anyway, long story, and not wanting to bore you, so I'll bore you with an example. As part of living with the problem I live on a restricted diet. a list of foods you can write on a 4x6 postit note with room for doodles. And every week or so I try a food experiment, some food off the list, and judge the reaction.

This last week's food experiment was small, a snack-size box of raisins. Yes, raisins. And as most, probably over 90% of them, go I was sick for 3 days. One gastroenterologist pretty much said since I took penicillin from age 3 to age 18, the age your body starts (at 2-3) and establishes the "normal" bacteria in your digestive tract, that mine was essentially shot.

Shot in terms it never fully established what is normal and from for the rest of my life since then have had problems with food, and worsened starting about 20 years ago, more so since 2008 after a long bout of the flu.

The gastroenterologist worked with me to find a way to have a diet I can eat and my body won't reject or have advere reactions, hence the postit note list. It's a balanced diet, and one I like, but also changes now and then, usually after the flu or simillar illness.

The hardest thing for me is socializing since food is almost always the center of the group, at some pub, restaurant, event or someone's home. Food is always there and pushed at people. The hardest thing is telling folks I can't eat anything there (that's a near 100% certainty now), and why I only drink coffee and on rare occasions, one beer.

My point? Nothing really, except to say, as others say, IBS is real and very personal to the person with it. It's nothing to make fun of or tell them it's not real. It is for them, they live with it. Respect it and what they say.

Packages

My paternal grandparents were English. My grandfather came over from England around 1908 to settle in Valley Falls, Kansas, a small town about two hours drive northwest of Kansas City. My grandmother came two years later when her soon-to-be-husband built her a home and opened the general store in town until he died.

During the summers of the late 1950′s my parents would send me to spend the summer with them. He went every day but Sunday to run the store and she tended to the house and garden. I was free to go anywhere I wanted so long as I got home in time for dinner. In a small town a 7-9 year old kid can’t get lost. There are too many neighbors to see you’re ok.

My grandmother was thrifty to say the least. She kept every package anything came in after they were done with it (dairy products were in glass jars so easy to recycle). She would throw away any paper inside boxes, etc. and then put the boxes on the shelves in the basement, which literally had everything they bought in packages since they moved into the house.

In the basement was the history of many packages, mostly food, but anything else than came in a box. He died in the early 1960′s when we lived in Europe. She lived for another 15 years. When they passed away, the kids, my aunt, uncle and father, wholesaled everything in the house that wasn’t removed by them for themselves. Her will was even read to know what she wanted.

I never knew what became of the collection in the basement, even my father didn’t know since it was one of the many things left for the wholesaler. I’ve always regretted not having a say in the dispensation of their belongs but their 3 kids, who didn’t like each other very much, were greedy for themselves with their parents legacy.

But the memory of the summers is always there. Not many, but always the basement full of commercial package history.

When Everything Fails

I've written my problems with my digestive system and an undiagnosed unidentifed bacteria infection or overgrowth, ad naseum to myself and likely readers here. I've also been reading the last few years about the concern to decrease the use of anti-biotics for conditions which don't warrant them.

And now I've reached the point, the problem isn't going away on its own, and a few times a month flares up to be a problem for a few days before the body comes around to fight it and get it back in check, but it hasn't gone away now for 18 months.

Really, a year and a half. I've had all the test gastroenterologists can conduct to identify the bacteria, but research has shown me that unless it's a physical problem in the digestive system that's obvious from tests, meaning shoving things inside you, or from tests pushing concoctions through the system, they're effectively clueless.

That's because there are so many types of bacteria in your digestive system, many good, some innocuous and some bad, that bacteriologists don't know them, only the ones they know cause problems. All the bacteria samples sent to two labs come back, "aggregate bacteria", like that helps anyone.

And that's where I reached the point there is no treatment outside of a universal anti-biotic they can't, or won't, prescribe because, despite all the symptoms it's an infection causing persistent flu-like symptoms along with physical and digestive problems, they don't have a diagnosis to get anti-biotics approved.

Yeah, they need a diagnosis, for their profession and health insurance coverage. They can't prescribe anti-biotics without good medical evidence or reason. Some gastroenterologists suggested, even recommended, "other" treatments, all of which have failed.

I've been through 4 probiotics, 2 enzymes, and 3 health or naturopathic supplements, all of which were short-lived and then made conditions worse, but none did anything against the bacteria. I've effectively run out of options via health or naturopathic sources that people have suggested or I've read about.

This only leaves the last resort doctors can't use, or continue down the road chasing the illusive treatment and cure for something everyone knows is a problem but can't identify it to do anything. Otherwise, it's the "patient heal thyself", meaning hope the bacteria eventually goes away or something happens which causes it to go away.

That's the story to date, exasperating when it's worse, and hopeful when it's best but knowing that's short-lived. The bacteria is a permanent resident of my system, and from now on it's just how the body deals with it, because doctors won't do anything even when doing nothing is doing harm.

Shorts and Socks

I’ve worn shorts everyday since September 2012. Yeah, I haven’t worn long pants since then, just shorts above the knees no matter the weather we have in the northwest. I’ve learned to wear various lengths of socks based on the weather, namely the temperature, but also the wind and rain or occasional snow. That means I have a huge drawer full of knee socks, over the knee (OTK) socks, and yes, thigh high socks.

The knee high socks are worn when the temperature drops below 50 or above that if it’s windy or raining. Above that, it’s just regular ankle socks, which is from about May into October, where fall weather changes back to knee socks. The OTK socks are worn when the temperature drops below 40 and the knees demands knee sweaters.

I use a product called Body Adhesive to hold the socks up, It’s never failed, even in the worst weather. The higher socks are for temperature near or below freezing to keep the thighs warm. Not surprisingly most of the socks I buy are labelled women’s socks, but in reality socks don’t care the gender of the feet they’re on, only that they fit and keep the person warm with style.

I also had Gore-Tex rain pants cut off into shorts slightly longer than the shorts to keep the shorts dry, so both are above the knees. I hate longer shorts and have all the shorts altered to be 1″ to 3″ above the knee depending on the weather. I also have a few pair of gaters for snowy or very rainy weather. They work better than long pants every could and why I’ll keep wearing shorts.

What I’ve learned from 4 winters in shorts is that if you’re walking your legs don’t really get cold, unless there’s a strong wind, but then most good wool or thck cotton socks do well against the wind, And the legs don’t get wet since you’re moving, and only from the water from the shoes or occasional mud puddle you don’t see.

It’s interesting now that I don’t have any long pants which fit anymore. Having walked over 4,200 miles I’ve lost 45+ pounds in the same period, so none of my old jeans fit. Even some of the shorts are getting baggy, but a smaller size is too small. I’m between a small and a medium now. All that said, I like wearing shorts everyday, and don’t plan to change, and the weather surely isn’t going to change that or me.

Starbucks Rewards

I've been a member of Starbucks rewards program for a short while, partly because I stop a the local store at the halfway point on my 6 mile roundtrip daily walk. It's in a local commercial area which fits into the routes I take for my walks, which varys from 6 to 8 miles.

At the Starbucks I guy a doppio con panna using my own 3 oz cup they gave me when I bought a pound of coffe about 2 years ago. The cup gives me a ten cent discount, which being free in the first place, has more than paid for itself.

Starbucks recently announced they're changing the rewards programs from giving a star forevery stop and/or purchase, up to 2 per day, and a free drink after 12 stars, to giving 2 stars for every dollar you spend no matter the stops or purchases, maybe because they didn't say if there was a daily maximum quota.

For me this means while now I earn a free drink every 12 days or stops (sometimes on trips to Seattle I'll stop at a second Starbucks), meaning two free drinks a month, after the change I'll only earn a free drink about every 5-6 weeks.

That's because a doppio con panna only costs just over $2 with tax, so it will take 32 purchases to get to the 125 star goal for a free drink, and at only 20-25 purchases a month (days I walk), that means more than a month between free drinks.

While I ocassionally purchase whole bean coffee, I have no interest to purchase more expensive drinks to get more stars. It's not worth it for me because there are cafes in the area which have better  mochas which are cheaper than Starbucks.

One of those local cafes is Metropolitan Market which has their own rewards program with the same buy 12 get one free drink offer. Their 12-oz mochas are better and cheaper than Starbucks. The University of Puget Sound student (also public) cafe offers my favorite 12-oz mocha, also cheaper.

And there are several Cutters Point, Tullys, and other cafes in the area with better mochas than Starbucks. While only some of those cafes offer rewards programs for regulars, I still prefer them to Starbucks for the mochas.

It's clear the change is more for business than customers. Coffee drinks are really cheap to make for the price, so the current rewards program isn't hurting Starbucks' bottom line, and clearly aimed to get more money from customers.

For me, though, it's not going to work. I'll continue to just buy my doppio con panna, and earn whatever stars they give. For other drinks I'll go to the other cafes with the better, and cheaper, mochas.

Gramicci

I've been wearing Gramicci's Original G shorts for years. I liked everything about the old style and size. I eventually added a dozen pair of Rock G shorts , and after having them shortened to the length I like (8.5" inseam than the 11.5" inseam they came), which are my everyday shorts.

I haven't worn long pants since September 2012 no matter the northwest weather. The shorts are that comfortable. I wear the original G shorts for work around the place, but after all the years most of the pairs were worn our, mostly on the waistband.

So when Gramicci oftered half off their Original G shorts recently I bought 4 pair to replace the aging, non-public pair, leaving only 2 good old pair.I was greatly disappointed in the new Original G shorts for a few reasons.

First, the legs are longer, and I had to have an alteration shop shorten them to the length of the old shorts. But it turned out the new shorts have a shorter inseam for the same length because the shorts are baggier - or "roomier" as some might say - and such that they just hang on my body than fit.

I've lost nearly 50 lbs in the last 3 1/2 years, from around 190 lbs to just over 140 so far, with another 5-7 lbs of fat to lose. The German side of my heritage as my grandparents used to say. This means I'm now somewhere between a small (too small) and a medium (too big), why the medim fits so big on me now.

But my point here is that Gramicci has changed the style and size of the Original G shorts, which for me doesn't work. I'll keep wearing the old shorts and relegate the new ones to the bottom of the stack if I don't donate them. I just don't like shorts or pants that baggy.

I like a comfortable fit, but these are comfort and some. I've written Gramicci to express my view, and maybe they'll change the size of the Original G shorts, but I'm not holding my breath.

Nathan Strobe Light

The local runners store carries the Nathan Strobe Light for $10. When you look at it, you wonder where the $10 price goes because it surely doesn't cost more than $2-3 to produce, transport and market, at most, but when the package promised over 50 hours of light on steady and 100 hours on strobe, it seemed like a reasonable deal.

Well, the light is good. It clips on to the chest strap of my backpack for my 6 mile predawn walk to town and back. It alone, but also sometimes with a good flashlight, clearly makes me visible to drivers on the roads where I walk, which are the rural roads between home and town.

But their promise about battery life, doesn't ring true. The original batteries lasted just over 40 hours on strobe, the mode I always use. The first set of replacement batteries, Duracell brand, only lasted just over 30 hours. I bought a 9-pack of generic batteries for the price of the strobe, so I'm testing them now.

While I like this light, and it clearly does a good job, it's also clear it eats batteries, and will cost over time more than the light, and if you use it for distance walks, take a spare set of batteries, because when it quits, it quits without a blink.

Day One Journal

Update II (2/15/2016).-- I got a response from the company if they plan to add iCloud sync with version 2 of the app. They don't, meaning it's their cloud or nothing. I would now only recommend the app with reservations, don't trust them. It's a good app, and probably the best for what it does, but relying solely on their system is not just their gamble, it's yours too.

It's the old adage, buyer beware. I plan to use version 2 along side version 1 even though it's not supported. So far they run in parallel as mirror images of each other. What I add or edit in one I put in the other, so I can have a backup and test their sync and cloud service, but I'm not holding my breath they won't charge at some time in the future, since they're a business and the users are their revenue source.

Update (2/11/2016).-- After trying to find a replacement app, which was unsuccessful along with the fact I couldn't import the history of entries from Day One into any new app, I bought the new app, which is both the OS-X and IOS versions.

I created the account to use their cloud server and am running them in parallel. The old and new versions of the app are designed to be separate apps on the Mac and IOS devices so they don't interfer with each other, the old one uses Apple's iCloud and the new one Bloom Built's server.

The apps require separate entries into the database, but it's just cut and paste one to the other. I don't use the new features with the new app, I use it as a daily journal for my walking trips. I also don't use the location tool in the IOS app so I don't get the weather. There's better apps for that and their choice of weather sources isn't that good.

Anyway, I had to backtrack on saying I wouldn't buy it. I'm angry at Apple they don't allow app companies to offer discounts on upgrades but only allow full prices for old and new customers, which explains why some apps developers replace their apps on the App Store than update them.

I'lll stand by the view the company will introduce a subscription for the sync and service sometime in the future, possibly later this year when the introduce the premium service they announced which will be a subscription. I'll decide to keep the app or not when the do that.

Original Post.-- I've walked 5-6 days a week, most weeks that is, since September 2012. Since then I have used Day One journal app for Mac OS-X and IOS with iCloud sync, dropbox also available with version 1 of this app, which with its simplicity and iCloud sync was why it was a great buy.

I have over 600 entries with it logging every day I walk with the mileage, weather and notes. It's worked great for what I want with very few glitches over the years but always fixable from the backup on the Mac, the devices, or with iCloud. You can also export all the entries in PDF or text format as a backup.

Recently the company, Bloom Built LLC, released version 2.0 of Day One journal for OS-X and IOS for $20, a 50% discount for awhile. The Apple App store doesn't allow charges for upgrades so many companies have reverted to complete new versions, removing the old version, so they can charge for the app.

Well, it didn't take long for users to discover that while the new version has rave reviews, it has one major underlying flaw. The company dropped iCloud and Dropbox sync. In place they have their own exclusive, proprietary sync with their servers through user accounts, free for the time being.

This opened a storm of bad ratings on the Apple App store and iTunes App store, outnumbering the favorable reviews by a significant margin. I haven't upgraded yet, as I'm researching replacement apps for both the Mac and iPhone.

While I like the app, and wouldn't mind paying the $20 for the OS-X app and $5 for the IOS app, I'm not going to buy it for now. The company states they went to their exclusive sync for a better service offering more and better features in the future, like encryption.

I can't see adding their sync to my accounts because I don't know if, but expect, they will charge a subscription in the future for the service with the apps and the sync through their servers. Every company which has gone this route does this at some point, it's the revenue stream the put into the business plan.

Which is why I doubt Day One will add iCloud and Dropbox sync into version 2 until they lose more customers than they gain, meaning more people won't buy the apps than will because they know the bill comes later with the subscription. A nice app can but lost with bad management decisions, and this is one excellent example.

They want the subscription revenue, and this is the way to go, but it comes at a price. Good as the app is, and questionable why Apple endorsed it as an "Editors' Choice", it's not worth relying on the company to service and secure your private journal.

In short for now, DO NOT BUY IT, until you know the future costs.

When tests fail

For the last almost 16 months I've had a bacterial infection or overgrowth in my digestive tract, or at least I say it is and know from experience, but not all gastroenterologists would agree with that diagnosis, in spite of the evidence.

One, however, saw it not only wasn't normal, but clearly some type of infection, but all the tests for known bacterial infections and overgrowth were negative. And while many specialist might give up saying they don't know what it is, and as I've written before, "Patient heal thyself."

Last year were down to the last test, a colonoscopy, which was scheduled for last June but wasn't done, so he did an endoscopy on my upper GI tract, from the throat to the duodenum, where he found I had Barrett's Esophagus. Like I cared since it wasn't a problem.

Anyway, since last June the war between the body and the bacteria had good and bad periods, some where I lost 4-5 lbs in 3-4 day when the body was winning, and where I gained 4-5+ lbs when the bacteria was winning.

So we scheduled another colonoscopy, which was done today (2/9/16) after a weekend of two preparations kits to ensure the colon was flushed and cleansed. I had a day of fasting and then the  prescription preparation protocol each of two days before. Yeah, overkill it was, in every manner of speaking.

The colonoscopy proved effectively meaningless, finding nothing obviously physically wrong related to the bacteria or polyps (none), but finding two small other problems, normal stuff of age and consistent digestive problems, nothing worth pursuing, although he sent one out for biopsy.

What I was thinking before the proceedure and which proved with the proceedure - I was only mildly sedated to watch the monitor and talk with the gastroenterologist during the proceedure - was that colonoscopies have one major flaw.

Not so much the colonoscopy, but the whole proceedure with the preparation. A colonoscopy looks for physical problems in the large colon. It can't look for other problems, such as bacteria, tissue masses, etc. because they're flushed out with the preparation.

And unless they leave attachments or remanents on the intestinal wall, the gastroenterologist won't see them. It's the gap in gastroenterology, between the known tests for non-physical conditions and tests for physical conditions.

This gap, however, is huge, in part why they call it Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is short for "It's bets the Shit" out of us. They can't know what they can't identify, and therefore can't treat conditions they don't know.

And this is where I'm at. To me it's a bacterial infection when it flares up because not only does it hamper the large colon, it has extensive side effects throughout the body, often flu-like symptoms. But two labs have only identified it as "aggregate bacteria" from samples.

What's also frurstrating is that I've met other people with other digestive conditions to go through the series of tests and arrive at the same place with their specialists, it's unknown, and therefore untreatable, unless the specialist is willing to experiment with the patients approval.

So this is where I'm at, but my gastroenterologist is leaving the clinic for another job, so I have to find a new gastroenterologist, and effectively start all over, except we have all the tests results proving what we don't know and nothing of what we know.

What I've also learned, some at the recommendation of gastroenterologists or naturopaths, is that probiotics are a disaster. Four different brands of different single or multiple probiotics made matters worse, like sending more soldiers into an ongoing major battle.

Enzymes don't work, as has several other health supplements which are supposed to help fight digestive bacterial problems. All of these only made the bacteria condition worse. I've found fasting helps as does colds and the flu, because the immune system seems to fight anything it sees as abnormal, which includes this bateria.

Anyway, just some thoughts to date. Since mid-January, the body is winning the battles and war after 3+ weeks of the bacteria winning. I went from 144 lbs in early December to over 152 lbs in January and am down to 143 lbs this week.

That's the difference the bacteria adds to the body when it flares up, 5-7 lbs, and all in my digestive tract with all the associated problems in the digestive tract and symptoms in the body. And there's nothing doctors will do. They can prescribe universal antibiotics but won't without specific test showing it's an infection, which requires identifying the bacteria, which they can't seem to do.

While I still have some measure of confidence in gastroenterologists, the ones who care enough to keep exploring than be dismissive of the patient, I don't have much confidence they can solve my problem, so I live with it for now and try ways to keep it in check and hope the body overcomes it for good, some day.

Car Toys

I have a 1991 Vanagon Syncro with the original cassette deck radio. Yeah, right, being old, but I haven't had reason to replace with a CD-radio because the ride is so stiff, it rattles everything and I didn't want to put a CD player to that abuse.

But in recent years there are great versatile receivers with bluetooth, USB and other connections. I've been looking at them for the last 2-3 years and finally broke down to replace the radio with a new generation one from Alpine.

Remember it's a Syncro. It's noisy, windy, rattles and everything else, so it doesn't pay to put anything expensive in it and there isn't much room for larger or bigger speakers where the existing ones are located, so I did some homework and found some models I liked which Car Toys had in stock and could install.

So that's half the story. The other half is that Vanagon, and especially Syncro's, have twin batteries, the primary (starter) battery under the driver's seat and the auxillary one under the passenger's seat. They charge when driven but kept separate by a relay so can't run down the primary when the engine isn't running.

The auxillary battery takes over and runs everything one you shut off the ignition, so VW put the radio on the hot lead to the auxillary battery to work with the ignition off. The folks and techs at Car Toys know this and the sales rep told the installation tech not to wire the new one through the ignition, but as the old radio is installed.

Apparently he didn't hear or wasn't listening, and I watched him through the viewing window wire the radio through the ignition. I wondered why he was taking the ignition cover off and installing a wire from there to the dashboard, and true to form, I thought, "I hope he's not doing what I think he's doing."

Yeah, he was and did, and when he delivered it the radio didn't work with the ignition off. I wasn't happy and explained the situation to the tech. The manager finally intervened to say they'd fix it if I would wait 10 minutes, and they did fix it, but the extra wires from the ignition and fusebox deadend at the radio, wires I didn't ask for, didn't want and now have.

They're harmless and useless now, and it cost me an hour waiting for something they didn't need to do, and someday I'll remove. It was a straight replacement with adaptor harness and USB wire out the dashboard for the iPhone or iPod and another for the microphone, which I also didn't ask for, didn't want and is now tucked inside the dashboard.

Anyway, I like the new receiver to connect my iPhone and play my iTunes music library via bluetooth or USB, far better than the box of cassette tapes I kept in the van. And the folks at Car Toys were decent and did a good job so I don't really have a complaint, except if you get work done there make sure everyone understands exactly what you want before they start.

Dear AARP

Dear AARP,

You keep sending me cards to entice me to join, and every time I cut them up and throw them away. You are not an organization which represents older and retired people. You are a corporation which uses fake membership to sell people discounts, insurance, and others products.

You make money off older and retired people from their membership dues and from corporations paying you to sell stuff to members. You talk about what's good for older and retired people but you never asked what we think or what we want you to do for us.

You have never polled your members on legislation before Congress. You told the what they should think of bills in Congress, how and what they should tell our Congressional representatives, and how they should vote on issues or candidates.

You spoke not just for member but all older and retired people. You lobbied for us. You decided for us. And you ran ads for us. But you never asked us, especially those of us who aren't members. You acted as if we were members without our permission or approval.

Members don't elect the board governing the organization. They don't get a say in the decisions of the organization. They don't get to speak or write for the publications, only the ads to sell products. They only get told by the organization what is best for them.

You ignore members but not their money and their value to sell more products. I joined when I turned 50 and quit when I turned 52 because you didn't and won't listen to members. You don't care about members, only their money. And with that in mind, here's my answer to your junk mail.

Go Fuck Yourself!

I'll take care of myself thank you. I don't need you or your corporation telling me what I should think or how I should vote, and I don't need the products you and the corporations paying you to sell us.