The Besttechie Cafe'

[tg1911]

macmarauder,

You misunderstood.

That's what this type of ceramics was developed for.

High temps, high pressures, and high strength.

Said to be 50 times stronger, than the current strongest ceramics.

Something to do with the length of the fibers.

The companies experimenting with it are jet, turbine, and internal combustion engine manufactureres.

It's supposed to be some wicked stuff, but still experimental.

Either way, still to expensive for me.

[thesidekickcat]

Hello everybody! Long time no see! Well actually I've been back, here and there, just not posting much. Still trying to catch up on boards whenever this cantankerous computer and my crash-minded isp give me a chance.

Any Dr Pepper around? Seem to have a craving for it lately.

Though still do my coffee pot and a half of Yuban nearly every day.

I see everyone has been busy with summer special projects, vacations, etc.

And now Liz is trying to shove her kids off to school early....haha! Good sign the summer is winding down when parents get to that point.

I picked my first tomatoes (Early Girl) last week, sure good. The zucchini is prolific of course, but not as good varieties as the usual ones I get. I took a chance on an "heirloom" variety called "Zucchini Coasta Romanesco" Supposed to be "the best tasting, with ribbed, striped fruit and lots of flower buds for cooking" Well their hyperbole not withstanding, these things are awful, with very little flavor at all! And the blossoms aren't much better! Plus the plants are at least 10 feet across, and 5 feet high, (Mac's sweet gift garden robot, and I nearly fell head first into one today and we probably wouldn't have been found unless someone sent in tracking dogs!) yet not many zucchini on either plant compared to modern day good flavored zucchini plants. And to make me dislike them even more, the plants don't have the gorgeous variegated 'frosty' looking leaves of normal ones. I do have one plant, Eight Ball, with round zucchini that is ok flavor, but doesn't produce very well. So much for not buying my plants early when there is a better selection. All I planted this year were tomatoes and zucchini, as my neighbor was doing a bunch of stuff with plenty to share (good thing too with all the backaches hubby and I have had), but my yard does better tomatoes, and they don't like zucchini usually, but they like this no-flavor one! Ha! So it all works out one way or another.

Nice weather in high 70's, low 80's, lately. But to be in low 90's this weekend, so will stay off computer rather than chance sitting in front of air conditioner.

Was it Bozodog that suggested I move air conditioner in another thread? Sorry, can't remember who. But it is built into wall, not 'easily' removed like a window one unfortunately. I think moving computer and desk would be easier, if I had someplace else to put it.

Still think the better idea is just move to a new house!!! Been here to long (32 or so years) anyhow!!! I really want a better house, bigger and with all the right floor plan etc and with all the stuff I have wanted for so long, and in a better neighborhood too. Now if I could only win Publishers Clearinghouse then I'd want the new place to be at the coast!!!! Yesssss!!! Ok! Dreams are good!!!

Hubby is home, so time to get this posted, and think about something for supper.

Sure have missed being here with all you great people. Luv ya! Pat.

God bless everyone.

[blim]

Ooooooh, Sidekickcat, you have tomatoes already?? Still waiting for my earlygirls. I laughed at your zucchini review. I don't like zucchini and decided zucchini bread was too fattening to make (but I do have a good recipe if you don't) but we used to grow it when the kids were little (more room in the garden due to their puny appetites) to see how big a zucchini we could grow. Oh, we had some mighty baseball bat sized zucchinis!! Gosh, I think one year when I plucked off all but two, they grew to about 6 feet. No good for eating, but the kids sure enjoyed watching them grow Zucchini, tomatoes, carrots (but not this year!) and yellow peppers (if the weather gets hot enough, last year we had none) do best in my garden.

Good luck with that heat spell, today's the first day I wore sweats in weeks.

Liz

[bozodog]

Sidekickcat, I know what you mean about heirlooms, they are hit and miss. By golly, I'd like to get my hands on some "German heirloom cukes" I had a few years back.... Wow! Were they great. Tasty, burpless, real tender skins, and prolific as all get out. Stupid greenhouse had no idea what they were the next year... ? I figure they tried a mixture packet of seeds and had no idea what was good, great, or not. ( I live in the greenhouse capital of the mid west, we ship all over the US)

I just have not luck with root crops in my soil. Not sure why, but the only time I was able to grow carrots was when I dug a trench and put in a 50-50 sand and topsoil mix. My garden itself is too humis for it I think.

My Brit has decided to double the size of the garden next year to: 10'x20' I told him it's all his baby getting it ready. We have to move the garden shed to do it, and it will need some serious application of compost and humis this fall.

[thesidekickcat]

Sounds like those cukes were great!

I had an unknown kind of green peper one time that was the best I've ever eaten.

Sure wish I knew what it was...sweet at all stages, early too, and ripen to red fast and even sweeter then, good fresh or frozen, and good producer. I have tried lots of plants, and seeds since but never found it's equal. Of course home improvement store had no idea of name or even what nursery. Sigh!

Only a few root crops work for me even after all the compost and mulch I've added over the years to make this clay soil productive to more than just weeds. I can do potatoes, sunchokes, and turnips, rutabagas etc. But forget carrots, even radishes are a problem. Wierd!

I used to "farm" the entire land around house, even the parking strips. The neighbors loved coming here instead of the store. I shared with neighbors, relatives, and strangers even, and canned, froze and dried lots of stuff.

Then my health got to bad to do that much work along with all the remodeling my hubby and I did.

I had fibromyalgia for 23 years, nearly landed in wheel chair in the early years due to misdiagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and wrong treatment. Finally another Dr, top NW Kaiser rheumatologist, did tons of tests, I was a classic fibrositis case he said, (disease was later renamed to fibromyalgia) and he started me on 9 or 10 months of physical therapy to regain use of nearly atrophied muscles. Over the years had lots more Physical Therapy, and just learned to survive with pain and limitations while fighting to keep as mobile as possibe. Had other things happen over the years, like falls, and then a car accident (that turned into a doozey of a long term neck and back problem) etc. (I figure the devil was working overtime to do me in).

Anyhow to make a long story short, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour at age 40 (I have just turned 61), and in 1997 I went to a huge Benny Hinn Healing Crusade, and was healed by Jesus Christ totally of the fibrositis/fibromyalgia!!! Praise God !!! One minute I went from totally miserable with pain, and inability to run, do stairs without help, open doors, shake hands etc, to running down the stairs from nosebleed top of upper section of arena to the main floor totally lastingly healed from it and able to do all the stuff I couldn't do just moments before and no more fibromyalgia pain either!!! Pastor Benny had a Word of Knowledge that fibromyalgia was being healed, and many of us with it were healed (and also lots of people were healed of other things throughout the 3 services that crusade)!!! Praise God!!! I know God's real, I know He heals, He healed me!!! By Jesus stripes I am healed, and I still claim it for every other thing that is wrong with me, in time I will have complete healing of the other stuff too. I know it's going to happen because I believe God's Word that says it will. I just need to keep believing God and His Word (the Bible) and wait faithfully and patiently. I don't know why it didn't all happen all at once, or since, maybe I didn't have enough faith to believe for more than the fibromyalgia, don't know. I just know that all the tests since then that the Drs do (because they don't believe it is possible to be healed of an incurable disease) for fibromyalgia, and other similar diseases are negative, so I was healed of it, and still am!!! Praise God!!! I know many will scoff, and not understand any of this, or believe me, or will 'explain' it away, but that's their business not mine, it is still true that Jesus Christ healed me of Fibromyalgia!!! And I will Praise God forever!!!

So now you all know a little bit more about me.

I hadn't planned to talk about this today. It just happened to be what I ended up writing about today for some reason.

Pat

God bless everyone.

[bozodog]

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The majority of doctors believe in God and attend religious services, and more than half say their religious beliefs affect how they practice medicine, according to new survey results.

Study author Dr. Farr A. Curlin of the University of Chicago in Illinois said he was "surprised" at the findings, given that previous studies have shown that scientists are less religious than the general population, and religious beliefs tend to diminish as education and income levels increase.

However, the field of medicine involves caring for others, and therefore may attract spiritual people, Curlin said. "Medicine, at its core, is a moral practice," he noted.

[blim]

You're a walking miracle, Pat! What an amazing experience, what an amazing story!! No wonder your Blessings are so important here, there's proof behind the Blessings!

Today I saw a hummingbird chasing a goldfinch away from the bird feeder and all around the yard. Was it ever funny. Hummingbirds don't even like thistle seed. Reminded me of the saying that short people were either bullies or clowns.

Liz

[bozodog]

Ahh, but hummingbirds do eat small bugs for the protein. The nectar is only to charge their batteries for the bug hunt. Maybe the seed has some of Sidekickcats grain bugs. Or those little moths.

And yes, please keep up your blessings. Everyone needs a prayer.

[thesidekickcat]

Wow that study amazes me!!! I would like to have a Christian Dr, and I am sure there are some at Kaiser, but it is against the rules for patients to ask directly also not on record at membership services, or for Drs to say. (Though you can tell about some by their reactions to what you say.)

Current Dr, who will not continue to be my Dr if I can find another one, looked at me like I was a specimen under a microscope when she took my history and asked how the fibromyalgia was...so I told her...ha! Of course she said all the 'right' things, but the look on her face and her body language said otherwise. Then she ordered tests to try to prove me wrong, but they proved I no longer have it. I was so mad to find out that she had gone behind my back with extra tests besides ones I knew about...but can laugh about it now...and consider it a good thing to have it done again and again put in my record as not having it anymore when it was there so many years as having it. But I don't like her, don't trust her, and don't think she is a very good Dr due to some medicine errors she did, one each for hubby and me should have never been prescribed.. grrr!!! So we will try for another Dr when someone else at our clinic has openings for more patients.

I was wondering what the reaction to my post would be. Glad it was positive. Thanks folks.

Yes it was truly a wonderful miracle!!! Praise God, He is still in the miracle working business!!!!

Liz hummingbirds are territorial, they will even chase cats and squirrels too.

Oh before I forget it, (and the site page link will probably only be good for a week or two as it is to an article in our daily Oregonian paper's weird online service), but here is an interesting article on readers responses to killing weeds. I like the vinegar, boiling water, and even the Clorox ideas to try out. Have used the first two on ants, especially in sidewalk cracks and ant hills. Works great. But haven't tried them on weeds. Supposed to even kill Dandelions. Hubby will try it he says, just not this weekend as it is hot again. To be 90 today, but mid 90's tomorrow.

Weed Removal Tips

Take care and stay cool everyone.

Oh and another before I forget to mention it item, Has anyone noticed the new version of Google for IE has a spell checker? Not that I will always go along with it if I like my kooky way better, or even always remember to use it, ha! Can't find the old dictionary option yet, but do like the spell checker. I never got around to doing the IESpell one. They also have several other new features, including a new privacy policy.

Pat.

God bless everyone.

[bearskin]

way to go thesidekickcat....tell it like it is...cheers to you.

[blim]

Loved that Link, Pat, especially the 9 year old with his weed garden ("they grow like heck" No kidding!) I did discover that purple morning glory (planted years ago and formerly yanked in unwanted areas) kept "something" from eating my pepper plants!! The peppers had holes in the leaves, but once the morning glory sprouted, the buggies moved right to them. Sooo, now I pull them when they get in the way or just clip them to size!!

I spent gosh, don't know how many summers, trying to kill a mulberry bush growing in a chain link fence--couldn't dig it up without wrecking the fence--used leftover canning and noodle water, leftover clorox from cleaning (this was before Roundup was invented), wacking it with an axe, and it eventually died, but what a challenge. If it grows back, I'll try the vinegar!

Liz

[thesidekickcat]

Oh the many things that can take over a yard and garden, not only weeds but all sorts of good stuff. Like sun-chokes (Jerusalem artichokes) that I planted and that spread to my neighbor's yard one year, or her mint that spread to mine the year or two before, or periwinkle so pretty and pretty hard to get rid of along with ivy, or laurel hedges, or fill in the blanks folks of what you have fought to get rid of that was nice to start with, but turned into a yearly backache to remove.

Also just the traveling stuff, like the daffodil clump in the middle of one row of raspberries. Have dug it out repeatedly, chopped it up, deep mulched it even with rock, sicced the slugs on to it, and every year it merrily blooms it's heart out for everyone along the alley. Finally said OK it can stay.

I haven't tried to get rid of mulberry bush/trees, only the berry stains from the mulberry tree we parked the truck and camper under in a campground in Eastern Washington one year. They stained everything they touched....permanently!

Getting tired out so will go read for awhile, and give you all a break.

from Pat

God bless everyone.

[blim]

Well, either that hummingbird is a territorial bully or birdbrained enough to think goldfinches are flowers....a finch was at the feeder and the little bully kept flying up and poking the finch in the rear end. Hilarious. I hope the bully comes back tomorrow--it's fun to watch the little guy!

Quiet night here, yea!! Daughter went to movies with Boyfriend and Son is at an all night Soccer practice/campout. At midnight, they can practice with a soccerball instead of just running. He'll sleep tomorrow!! There are 30 boys going out for soccer so if all goes well with the school board, they will have a Varsity team and a JV Club and Son is going to be the head coach! No money, probably, but it will look good on a job resume, nonetheless. Hoping it washes out, this school is very football oriented--and since soccer takes potential players away from their "cherished sport", it will be a challenge to talk the board into a second soccer team. If the board denies a JV Club, they'll have to cut players (not enough uniforms)....never fun. No kid should ever be cut from something they want to do

Went beach walking with my folks today. Beautiful day to do it, too!! I'm lucky, Montague's beaches are Michigan's best kept secrets, all the tourists go to the neighboring town

Liz

[bozodog]

Yeah, Blim. You are lucky. That's why I feel blessed to have my dear friends that own the lake house. The beach there is at least a mile away from the county park. And boy, do we make sure to show our appreaciation by cleaning, laundry, and deep scrubbing things like the nic-nacs on the high shelves. (they have tons of beautiful stuff from their world travels) We even spend time helping clear the yard, they have a big patch of briars.. that we've been working away at.

[thesidekickcat]

My Brit has decided to double the size of the garden next year to: 10'x20' I told him it's all his baby getting it ready. We have to move the garden shed to do it, and it will need some serious application of compost and humis this fall.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw this the other day and was going to comment on it but forgot.

You probably already know how to do this, but just in case not, here is a method that relatives, neighbors, and I have used over the years to reclaim sections of yard for more garden space. It is the easiest way I know versus the old double digging way or tilling which just churns up concrete like chunks of the clay that passes as soil here.

Anyhow the way to do it is to sheet compost it.

First apply your cornstarch preemergent weed suppressant (I use WOW from Gardens Alive), water it in.

Then put multiple overlapping alternating layers of newspaper (no color pages or slick ads due to heavy metals in inks etc) and big pieces of cardboard. This is to kill out all the weeds/grass.

Then spread out green material like grass cuttings from lawns with no chemicals used on them. And any other good green and woody shredded material, such as prunings from trees and bushes (if it wont sprout from eyes or cuttings).

Next buy/dig up a bunch of good fishing worms to spread over this to work the whole area while it is composting. Add as many worms as possible. Can't overdo the worms, as they are the hard workers that will turn everything to good compost by spring yes even in cold climates if protected by a deep layer of material such as grass cuttings and fall leaves.

Then add fall leaves, as many as you can get. We chop/shred them up by running the Honda mower over them and bagging them to spread wherever we need them.

Then top it all off with a load of good compost, and composted manure.

If you want or can get the material, you can add more alternate layers of stuff, but if you do anymore newspaper or cardboard they now need to be in strips, so they will allow stuff under them to breathe, and have water percolate down through it all. Only bottom layer is to be more solid to suppress/kill weeds.

If you get it done before cold weather, you could even fence it off with chicken wire and toss in some chickens to have them add their work to shred up stuff, though you would lose some worms to them, but gain some nice chicken "gold".

Winter snows will benefit it all, by insulating things for the worms to stay active.

This is a bit harder in a really wet climate such as ours normally is, and needs to be started earlier in summer to get it cooking a bit before it gets drowned.

I have done this on dead ground, parking strips (we live on a corner) with lots of packed ground and weeds, and did most of yard at one time like this, sometimes using rototiller first, then doing this right afterwards to prevent clay from clumping into hard chunks. But found it is just as efficient and works just as well to do it without tilling.

In the spring, it should be in pretty good shape to plant stuff with good root growth, to reach down to lower level and that will let worms work further down. Also can do a 'green manure' crop in late fall next year to continue to break up any hardpan layer deeper down.

The new garden bed should end up raised a few inches even after wintertime composting settles it down a bit, and so each year add more layers of sheet composting to it and you'll end up with a great rich soil raised garden.

Hope this gives you and your Brit, some ideas to make this project less work, except the hard part of moving the shed. Good luck with it all. And don't you reinjure your wrist etc by helping. Remember it is his project.

God bless everyone.

[macmarauder]

(sets out a few more chairs and tables for our new flood of G4 friends)

(uses laptop to give send new orders to the robots and robot mice to build a and extension onto the side of my Cafe' to make more room)

welcome guys, please help yourselves to free donuts, coffee, ect. it's the lightest calorie stuff you'll ever have.

[bozodog]

Pat, that is the best way I know of starting a new plot. Fortunately, my soil isn't bad at all and the shed had patio blocks on the floor, so I don't think it's very compacted. We will use the grass and topsoil we move from the new shed location. And cover it all with straw and fall leaves. 10x10 is really very small and it sure won't take long to get the double digging done. The biggest problem is the rock farm I live on. I spend more time bending over and pitching "too big" rocks, then I do digging new ground.

Welcome to the cafe, G4ites!

[Vile_DR]

welcome guys, please help yourselves to free donuts, coffee, ect. it's the lightest calorie stuff you'll ever have.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Almost as if you were losing weight while snacking here at BT Cafe'.

I hit a snag guys. My girl and I are having a disagreement on the placement of our cars in the garage and the driveway. She wants to park her car in the garage, but i want to put a pool table, wall hanging TV, a big Rack Mount Fridge (vending type, given to me by a buddy that works for Pepsi), and some other toys i can throw in there so she can have the house while my friends are over and not bother her...but she says i can use the spare bedroom to put all the stuff but the table and just not get one...Now I have a cover over my driveway that i park my car under, but i am stuck. I don't mind parking my car off on the short side of my yard, or possibly add an addition to the driveway, but what am i suppose to do about this...i really want the garage to be more like a "getaway, or game room" and she insists on parking her car in there...

What do you guys think I should do to make her happy and to satisfy my "free space"?

[macmarauder]

hey Vile, been a while. i would say yes because if you even need space to work on something you can just put her car on the street while working.

[macmarauder]

once again my Cafe' is under construction. don't worry most of it is still accessible and i had the coffee machines making plenty and donuts are already on the tables.

construction will be done soon.

[Vile_DR]

hey Vile, been a while. i would say yes because if you even need space to work on something you can just put her car on the street while working.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That it has been MAC...i have freed a lot of my time up at the job and i am able to browse the Forum a little more. I hired a secretary actually and she doest most of the phone calls and filing where as i still have to run from place to place doing the hardware stuff...but most of the Network Policies and Controls are a situated for me to work from my desk..."the dark secucled hole that they call the IT Department!"

[bozodog]

oook, how about building a addition to the garage? Or closing in the covered part? Yep I think you should make it a party room, dang the cars. (maybe if you promise to wash her car regularly and clean the snow and ice off in the winter???)

[Vile_DR]

Sup BD, to start...i already was our cars one every two weeks and sometimes more, It doesn't snow in florida and doesn't get cold enough for ice...but i have thought about the addition on to the garage, but to have a building inspector come out and look and give me the permit, it is going to cost about $500...i could just by another Topper to go over the part of the yard I'll park on...but great suggestion...i'll still have to keep it in mind...

[robroy]

Hey I need to move to Florida, Here in WV your permit would be much cheaper, you can build a small (1600 sf ) house for about a $500 permit. Maybe I can just come down and do the inspections. Certified Building, Plumbing and Mechanical Code Official

Basically that means I can review the plans then go out and do the inspections

[macmarauder]

(DING!!)

the construction is done. The BestTechie Cafe' is open again. now with even more room, a retractable cover for the patio, and lots of new goodies.