Running Bear's February 2023 Coffee Shop

[chadbag]

The speed test results prodded me to run tests again. I ran it on my phone using Wi-Fi to my roter and out over Comcast using the Ookla Speetest app. Then I went off Wi-Fi using the same app but using T-Mobile 5G in my area. Then I ran it directly on my router over Comcast (the router has speed test built in).

the Wi-Fi was the slowest. I have a Linksys mesh network and I think my phone was connected over 2.4ghz for some reason:

here is my router directly on Comcast Big difference. (I own my own cable modem —I don’t rent theirs — and they recently sent me an email that my account speed had been upgraded to 1gbps theoretical but my modem needed to be replaced to take advantage.):

and here is my phone again using T-mobile 5G. I need to look into why the wifibis so bad. Usually it is better.

comcast limits the upload to18mbps for my level of service. It prioritizes downloads

 

[Jaz avalley]

Not sure I'm worried about a small "estrogen" enhancement. If it were a problem for men then half of Japan would be in deep doo doo. Besides Natto, they are big consumers of soy sauce and miso...

Natto is fermented (natural fermentation) which enhances your gut biome (probiotics naturally) and also is a good source for nattokinase (which I take in supplement form), which is good for your blood and keeping it clean of clots. There are supposedly a lot of health benefits for it and the stupid thing is I'd probably like it if I have it a good chance.

It's a mental thing. Like beets. Beets are one of the foods I don't eat. Even other things I wouldn't choose at a buffet, like okra, or lima beans, or almost any food, I'll eat if its placed before me. But not beets. And for now, not natto.

I once read on the internet - so we know just how accurate that can be -

that soy was purposely fed to the Chinese and Japanese populations to subdue the men, making them less likely to fight, riot etc.
I believe their diet is a factor in why they have evolved to be shorter.
I have read elsewhere that, a shorter male does as much work as a taller male but requires less food.
Plus governments do not want us to live a long life, just long enough to reach our pension then preferably drop dead. So they do not have to give back your pension funds.
cynical and conspiracy theorist moi?

FYI A number of wars historically have noted that countries have gone to war when their males outstrip their females, causing internal unrest which has then been turned outwards with men advised that by conquering they can acquire women as sex slaves and have the freedom to rape women. History has a nasty habit of circling, guess whose male population at present seriously outweighs its female counterparts. Controlled breeding by governments have rarely worked out well.

That said as the productive baby boomers leave the work force things are not looking too bright either.But then our education was about real life issues, whereas today many ‘university‘ courses are flimflam who needs to understand some of the xxxx they teach there nowadays. Most kids can’t do simple math without asking Siri or typing it in, mental arithmetic, and misinformation is alive and well.

depressed myself off to go do some physical work

 

[bnsf971]

I once read on the internet - so we know just how accurate that can be -

that soy was purposely fed to the Chinese and Japanese populations to subdue the men, making them less likely to fight, riot etc.
I believe their diet is a factor in why they have evolved to be shorter.
I have read elsewhere that, a shorter male does as much work as a taller male but requires less food.
Plus governments do not want us to live a long life, just long enough to reach our pension then preferably drop dead. So they do not have to give back your pension funds.
cynical and conspiracy theorist moi?

FYI A number of wars historically have noted that countries have gone to war when their males outstrip their females, causing internal unrest which has then been turned outwards with men advised that by conquering they can acquire women as sex slaves and have the freedom to rape women. History has a nasty habit of circling, guess whose male population at present seriously outweighs its female counterparts. Controlled breeding by governments have rarely worked out well.

That said as the productive baby boomers leave the work force things are not looking too bright either.But then our education was about real life issues, whereas today many ‘university‘ courses are flimflam who needs to understand some of the xxxx they teach there nowadays. Most kids can’t do simple math without asking Siri or typing it in, mental arithmetic, and misinformation is alive and well.

depressed myself off to go do some physical work

I forget how many times I’ve had to teach a liberal arts student working at a McDonalds how to make change when their register stops telling them. That’s one reason I don’t go to those places very much.

 

[ctclibby]

The speed test results prodded me to run tests again. I ran it on my phone using Wi-Fi to my roter and out over Comcast using the Ookla Speetest app. Then I went off Wi-Fi using the same app but using T-Mobile 5G in my area. Then I ran it directly on my router over Comcast (the router has speed test built in).

the Wi-Fi was the slowest. I have a Linksys mesh network and I think my phone was connected over 2.4ghz for some reason:

View attachment 163185

here is my router directly on Comcast Big difference. (I own my own cable modem —I don’t rent theirs — and they recently sent me an email that my account speed had been upgraded to 1gbps theoretical but my modem needed to be replaced to take advantage.):

View attachment 163186

and here is my phone again using T-mobile 5G. I need to look into why the wifibis so bad. Usually it is better.

View attachment 163187

comcast limits the upload to18mbps for my level of service. It prioritizes downloads

Chadbag and All: Keep in mind that most speed tests do the test to the *nearest* POP which could be anywhere from down the street to the next biggest city. Change the 'test server' to something more distant and see what you have. Also, unless your router is brand new/latest and greatest, house wifi usually connects somewhere around 50Mbps; note that is NOT your throughput. If you have a Gig wifi router then that is usually faster than your Inet speed. Network connections have been spiraling upward since that 1st 300 baud modem way back in the 60's. Had one on an IBM360 which was the size of your stove top/oven. I am still waiting for Zipply to get Gig fiber installed. Can't do it until the snow is gone and they can get to our utility pole with bucket truck. The new N900's that I have been playing with connect anywhere from 100Mbps to 800Mbps. Need to dig deeper, but think the things test the waters before deciding what to connect at.

The 'comcast limits the upload .... It prioritizes downloads' statement ( above ) is just marketing speak. Your connection is full duplex ( Transmit and Receives at the same time ) so that statement really amounts to diddly squat wanting you to move to the next level ( mo $$$ ).

Later

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

38 degrees with light rain partly sunny later with a high of 54 degrees,

Watched a very interesting TED talk last night on diet and type 2 diabetes reversal. Basically proteins and fats good, carbs and grains bad. Veggies, as long as they are not starches, OK.

Flo, coffee please, a plate of your finest bacon and celery sticks!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 48° out there this morning, heading up to the mid-80's today. Only managed 76° yesterday, a little cooler than forecast, but I'll take it for February. Other than Friday, it appears that it will be in the upper 60's-mid 70's for the next ten days.

I'm going to the dental hygienist this morning for the usual teeth cleaning, shouldn't take long since half of what I have is implants or crowns. Still don't know why I pay full price when she doesn't touch those teeth.
Last night I took a home sleep test that one of my doctors prescribed. I'll repeat tonight as asked. I was quite apprehensive about being able to sleep with all of that gear on, but it actually went smoothly last night. Slept 7 3/4 hours including 3 bathroom breaks! OK, third one was get the hell up! While the test is specifically for sleep apnea, but might pinpoint other issues. The pulmonologist that I saw in the beginning of December hasn't figured out yet where the fluid in my lungs came from and wants to rule this out as a cause. That fluid was totally gone by my second visit, even though he did nothing! I'll humor him with one more Medicare paid visit before I tell him to forget it. Six vials of blood drawn for testing and a 40 minute breathing test showed nothing but good healthy lungs, even though my breathing could be heard across the room!

Out in the train shed yesterday, I painted figures because I needed to stock up on some more. For one of them, I took and carved down one of those repetitive Chinese figures to make something more useful.

First I removed the hat and collar and reshaped the shoulders.

The I trimmed down the overcoat, thinned down the arms and painted him. Excuse the glare from the wet paint on the shirt.

I still need to do some minor paint touch up and he'll be ready to go as a background figure from 3' away.
I also added a cat and dog to the trailer, while waiting for the occupants paint to dry.

Joe - The car lots in this area are beginning to fill up some, most of the "imports" are about 40%, domestic are near 60% except Ford. They never really emptied out. I don't know whether this is because they didn't have supply chain issues or whether no one wants their cars.
Karl - I love Beets as well, but I no longer eat them due to the calcium in them - contributes to kidney stones. Same with Spinach and all nuts.
Terry - I can't even count the number of times I have had to tell college kids how to make change at a cash register. It got so frustrating that I now don't use cash any more and just use the AMEX card and pay it off every month. There were instances where I probably could have ripped them off by a dollar here and there but didn't.

Today is National Pancake Day. If you want free breakfast, head for the nearest IHOP.

Everyone have a wonderful day. Shorts and tee shirt weather here again today.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Greetings, Coffee Shop Dwellers!
Large cup this morning, FLO - will dine later ....

Sick and tired of cold, rain, and wind. I lost count, but looking at the "city" chart it has been overcast, and wet for 7 straight days - I will check the monthly report just to see for myself.
Yesterday, we had a brief 1-2 hour break where I COULD see the hills to the South which rise towards Palomar mountain and could see tjat the snow level was "looked like" about 600-1000 feet above us.
It's been pretty cold for SoCal this year!
Today's range is mostly overcast -38-58F. With 60% chance of rain ... same tomorrow

Yall play nice, be back later .. nother cup to go, FLO!

 

[TLOC]

Good morning to internet speed monitors, pancake breakfast goers and sleep testers. That has been the only medical test I have ever refused. Willie, best wishes that they get good results for you.

I speed tested my IPadPro last night in the cave via the house WIFi extension. This was with Terry watching her TV and using her IPadPro so there was a load going.

I have had the local tech out to the house as this speed should be higher. At the last place we never went below 500mbps down or 200up. We have a fiber optic line. They blame the router, the WIFi extender system we own, too many steel beams in the framework… Terry’s office gets 600+ and 200+ as that is where the router is. At under $50 per month I am done complaining as 153mbps is quick enough in the far reaches of the house. The geeky son says upgrade the router to take full advantage of the speeds until we told him what we pay. He then said, your fine.

Commissioned weathering is done and everything has been shipped out. I have lots of my stuff already clear coated, trucks and wheel sets off to be weathered and I have deliveries coming today, tomorrow and Friday. I am in no rush on my stuff. We heard from the graffiti girl’s granddad that the court will not review her case until sometime in April. His stuff is faded and clear coated and already picked up. I told him what markers and paints I have been practicing with and told him just have her go to it on his stuff.

enjoy the day

 

[JeffH]

Calling @Jaz avalley

Have you seen the headlines regarding erithrytol? Studies have linked it to increased risks of blood clotting.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

AARP Forum​
Q: Where can single men over the age of 70 find younger women who are interested in them?​	A: Try a bookstore, under Fiction.​
Q: What can a man do while his wife is going through menopause?​	A: Keep busy. If you're handy with tools, you can finish the basement. When you're done, you will have a place to live.​
Q: Someone has told me that menopause is mentioned in the bible... Is that true? Where can it be found?​	A: Yes. Matthew 14:92: "And Mary rode Joseph's ass all the way to Egypt ...."​
Q: How can you increase the heart rate of your over-70 year-old husband?​	A: Tell him you're pregnant.​
Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly wrinkles?​	A: Take off your glasses​

 

[chadbag]

The 'comcast limits the upload .... It prioritizes downloads' statement ( above ) is just marketing speak. Your connection is full duplex ( Transmit and Receives at the same time ) so that statement really amounts to diddly squat wanting you to move to the next level ( mo $$$ ).

it is still true. They limit it to 18mbps uploads. And the Docsis standard defines fewer channels for uploads in the typical docsis 3.0 configuration though comcast may use 3.1 in their latest hw. You get send and receive but fewer channels are dedicated to uploads.

They limit almost every plan to 18 mbps upload except their most expensive or maybe top two most expensive. Have not looked for a while at their offerings. I guess my service is “rated” at 1mbps now and is one of their faster tiers but when I switched to it it was rated at 600mbps and the next tier higher was 1mbps with 36mbps uploads. I switched to it for a couple months but didn’t see anything faster on the downloads though I did see a bit faster in uploads. I moved back since it appeared my cable modem needed to be replaced to use the faster speeds (even at “rated” 600mbps I was seeing 750 on good days which didn’t change on the higher plan). My cable modem is about 5-6 years old I would guess? Motorola (though branded differently as Motorola sold that business IIRC).

I’ll buy a new cable modem when the house is finished.

my Wi-Fi is also faster than 35mbps if I am connected to the base station and not a satellite station in the mesh. My satellite is in the garage and not well situated (it’s purpose is to provide service to some IoT in the garage) and that is what I was connected to last night so besides double Wi-Fi it had to negotiate physical concrete walls etc. I have a few 5ghz channel and typically see a few hundred mbps on modern devices connected directly to the base station.

 

[chadbag]

that soy was purposely fed to the Chinese and Japanese populations to subdue the men, making them less likely to fight, riot etc.
I believe their diet is a factor in why they have evolved to be shorter.
I have read elsewhere that, a shorter male does as much work as a taller male but requires less food.
Plus governments do not want us to live a long life, just long enough to reach our pension then preferably drop dead. So they do not have to give back your pension funds.
cynical and conspiracy theorist moi?

The reason (one of the reasons) that the asian peoples tend to be shorter have to do with diet (and nutrition). They traditionally have eaten a diet of rice and vegetables with fish as the main protein. Some cultures have used meat like pork longer than others, but for the normal people, meat like pork or beef was rare. The asian peoples have become taller (and more rounded jaw) as western diet with high emphasis on dairy and beef has come more into every day use. This has been documented in many studies. (And I've noticed it going to Japan somewhat regukarly over the last 20 years -- lots of people now as tall as me or close to it (I'm 6'1" -- 6'2") where 20 years ago it was not as prevalent and my wife says growing up in Japan that people were shorter.

I think the asian cultures also have had longer lifespans in general over history than their european counterparts (at the same time in history). Today Japan has one of the longest lifespans on the planet in general. (But I think as they've become more westernized in diet they've had more of the issues that plague us like obesity and heart disease -- when I first went to Japan in 2000 I saw one person I thought was obese -- now I regularly see people we would consider obese when in Japan).

 

[chadbag]

Calling @Jaz avalley

Have you seen the headlines regarding erithrytol? Studies have linked it to increased risks of blood clotting.

Do you have links? I use a small amount of erithrytol daily though I have a ton of things that naturally thin blood as well or are anti-clot naturally...

 

[migalyto]

I forget how many times I’ve had to teach a liberal arts student working at a McDonalds how to make change when their register stops telling them. That’s one reason I don’t go to those places very much.

Remember when some of the bigger stores had the machine that would automatically spit the correct coins out for them. All they had to do is be able to count the bills, and put them in the correct slot in the drawer.

Do those still exist?

 

[TLOC]

I drove through a McDonalds a couple weeks ago with the grandson who wanted some fries. I rarely carry cash but there was $5.00 sitting in the tray under the infotainment system, so I used that. I gave the poor girl the 5 and heard back, REALLY CASH? Took her forever to figure out the $.41 change.

Nothing with clerks and registers surprises me anymore.

 

[migalyto]

Good Morning all,

Looks like everyone's internet speed is all over the place!

Going to be a very pleasant day in Northern Illinois. Going up to 50 today with the sun poking out and burning off the haze. Looks like some winter weather may be on the way for Friday, so we shall see what that brings.

Today is the 5th anniversary of an EF3 tornado that hit a few miles from here. I remember it vividly. I have never seen the sky look that way before it was a mix of green, and black that colored the whole surroundings. What made it more weird was it was February, and unseasonably warm.

Have a safe day all,

 

[ctclibby]

it is still true. They limit it to 18mbps uploads. And the Docsis standard defines fewer channels for uploads in the typical docsis 3.0 configuration though comcast may use 3.1 in their latest hw. You get send and receive but fewer channels are dedicated to uploads.

They limit almost every plan to 18 mbps upload except their most expensive or maybe top two most expensive. Have not looked for a while at their offerings. I guess my service is “rated” at 1mbps now and is one of their faster tiers but when I switched to it it was rated at 600mbps and the next tier higher was 1mbps with 36mbps uploads. I switched to it for a couple months but didn’t see anything faster on the downloads though I did see a bit faster in uploads. I moved back since it appeared my cable modem needed to be replaced to use the faster speeds (even at “rated” 600mbps I was seeing 750 on good days which didn’t change on the higher plan). My cable modem is about 5-6 years old I would guess? Motorola (though branded differently as Motorola sold that business IIRC).

I’ll buy a new cable modem when the house is finished.

my Wi-Fi is also faster than 35mbps if I am connected to the base station and not a satellite station in the mesh. My satellite is in the garage and not well situated (it’s purpose is to provide service to some IoT in the garage) and that is what I was connected to last night so besides double Wi-Fi it had to negotiate physical concrete walls etc. I have a few 5ghz channel and typically see a few hundred mbps on modern devices connected directly to the base station.

Docsis is a modem standard AFIK and those are used because it is simpler to limit at CPE than the maintenance headache dealing with the core/edge router. Your provider probably has an Subscriber Edge Router or Core Router, which should do whatever their connection to the backbone is. I used to BW limit customers thinking I could get more $$$ out of them. Wrong, the longer that data is in 'the pipe', the longer it takes to get another customers data. The things switch between connections pretty darn fast, but sooner or later you run up against latency which could cause packets to drop, which lengthens the latency ... ad-nausem. You want your pipe to and from the customer empty as much as possible. If you are one of the 'big guys' you don't care, if small like I was, just the thing to keep them happy. Sure, no such thing as 'unlimited speed' so there is some wait time. AT&T also does this for marketing; probably a few more.

And just like your home wifi your speed is limited by how filled the pipe is. This is one of the reason's I wanted out of being an ISP. Constant equipment upgrades; along with constant prices hikes. Can you run Cat5/6 out to the garage? That would help quite a bit.

Have a friend in Lake Stevens, WA and is setup for 1Gig up/down ( Comcast ) - different than the home setup unless you have deep pockets. He is a small Internet provider like I was and has been doing it for many years now. When we decided to do OTR trucking, I sold my customers to him; 140 domains ( hosted in data center ) because I could not take care of them .. he still has some of them after 10 years!

Later

 

[bigfoot13]

Yesterday I was able to finally get my initial attempt of my single ended staging yard working. It will be able to have 5 leads, a run around and a spur or two to hold engines. The yard can enter the mainline going either direction so I can send trains east or west from the yard. Hoping it will provide a nice addition to my operations. Now I just need to fine tune the covered section and install some switch machines.

 

[JeffH]

Erythritol

Artificial sweetener erythritol linked to heart attack and stroke, study reports

The study first published in Nature Medicine found that higher levels of erythritol were found among patients who experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event.

abcnews.go.com

The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk - Nature Medicine

Metabolomics analyses reported an increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with the artificial sweetener erythritol, supported by mechanistic studies showing that high levels of erythritol enhanced platelet reactivity and thrombosis formation.

www.nature.com

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with good backs

It's Troy again. Sans the heating pad, but still being Veeeeeerrrrrrrrry careful when I stand or sit. No bending, either.

After wording about 2000 words this morning, I made a Kroger (grocery) run and a Costco run today that were postponed from yesterday. I figured I'd better make my whiskey purchase BEFORE I got to Costco. My favorite UTubers about bourbon (Kurt and Trenton) have done a few specials on Costco's house bourbons. I knew that purchasing there would be dangerous to the bank account.

Here's the newest acquisition (on the left)

While at Costco, I got the bionic ears cleaned, picked up steaks, macadamia nuts (dry roasted), and a big bottle of Kirkland spiced rum for my sweetie. She's not into bourbon and only likes sweet cocktails or rum and cokes.

OK, time to go find a heating pad and take a nap.