Monday, April 5, 2021

Boost Mobile Saga

Today i decided i needed something, like a wi-fi hotspot or phone so i can go at least several hours a day in the park instead of sitting here breathing in the dust and s... the guy upstairs is giving to me any time he wants. Monday, Tuesday, days off. He went missing a few hours Monday when i left too, so i can't say he's been here 4 days in a row, but came soon after i started doing this. I saw that i can, using Angela's phone in the parking lots to get internet on the laptop and can be quite productive on it. Go in the park on a bench in the shade of a tree and do whatever i'm doing here. First i googled and found out about a wi-fi hotspot plan from Verizon, 4 Gigs for 20 dollars a month. But when i went to their website, i got lost. And i know a thing or two about web sites. Then i tried to go at the Verizon store near Walmart. A woman with big hypnotic blue eyes came to tell me that all their plans start at 55. Came back home again, searched again, again could not find that plan on their site. Then i've been thinking. Another device to carry. When i can get it on my phone. I like this phone because of the camera and is quite fast, a new similar unlocked one is 90 dollars now, but why the waste. If i could find a data plan only.

First, an attempt to unlock my phone. Spoke for up to an hour with 2 different agents. (It says online, on the phone only). Forgot the pin, had to guess first month of service last year Angela's got Boost Mobile for 35, with 6 gigs of data. On Boost Mobile plan there is an offer, 10 dollars off for a second line, which would made it 25. All i figured was i got 2 more months to go until i can unlock it.

Ok so again like nobody else had to spend hours to reactivate the phone with boost (prepaid, unpaid for more than 120 days). My attempts to add it as a second line to Angela's account failed miserably, because Angela's line is on a "14 days grace period" VIP plan which is not shown online. That is if she forgets to pay, they won't shut down her phone. I had a plan without that VIP thin (i guess, never asked or been asked for), on the same amount, and didn't pay and phone worked for 14 more days and then for up to a month for incoming calls only.

Because of that, they say, a second line cannot be added. But to figure all this i had to go through a Kafka like labyrinth. First, after talking on the phone, giving the ID numbers of the phone, they gave me a new phone number. I went online on Angela's account and added the phone.

Total cost should have been 35 + 25 (-10 for the second line) (Never realized how offensive this Sledgehammer song the're just playing on the radio while i type here).

So i went and paid the 35 dollars on her (main) account (there was nothing there to explain or choice to make as what the money were for, should had been 25 for the second line and 10 for activation fee or 35 -10 +10). It didn't work, i then opened the online account for the new phone number, thinking those 35 dollars will be for next month's balance, i paid the 35 dollars ballance there again, nothing happened.

Then i called them again and i just can't spend the next hour trying to tell what happened in the last two. I just can't. They put me on hold for periods of up to half hour and in the end "they opened a case" to remove the "VIP 14 days grace period" for Angela's phone so a second line could be added, then they will need to open another case for the refund or transfer the money i added on my account (so i can have the phone tomorrow in the park).

To make a long story short. Got the phone working, but not on family plan and paid two times 35 dollars each.

My guess if they use this excuse with the VIP grace period just to make it impossible to add a second line to a plan, as advertised. They just attract you with that, you go in there and end up paying an extra 120 a year for nothing. You could probably do it only if you start with two or more phones, not add another one later.  These web sites, customer service lines are black hole money traps, nothing else.

Thinking 10 dollars from 25 to 35 isn't much. It isn't? It's one third of the price. 120 a years, but who knows how many millions they trap with this trick. You decide based on the 10 dollars reduction, but once you get the phone activated and see it's 10 dollars more, is almost impossible to give up, once you have the phone activated.

Toxoplasmosis Possible Medication, Other Considerations

I am attempting to write a long blog post putting together all the information i gathered and how i came to the conclusion, but i will start with the conclusion and write the other stuff later. I am convinced now that this is a problem much bigger than modern medicines came to recognize so far, if not the biggest. Misunderstood, mistreated, ignored, confounded with many other separate illnesses.

I believe right now that most antihistamine medication, not only Zyrtec, many other medicines, like antiparasitic drugs, antibiotics, CYP3 enzyme blockers, are effective against T Gondii, mostly because of the complex ways T Gondii interferes with its hosts, metabolism, mimic in many aspects of its physiology etc.. But antihistamines are the cheapest, most available and have least side effects. I took this morning a generic Claritin and felt the way i expected after taking Zyrtec which is head of the list (of medications that need to be studied for treatment options) on an article linked above. I don't know if it was on the list of screen compounds by that team. I read on another site, a medicine similar to Benadryl does the same but nothing about Benadryl itself.

And now a very interesting short story about Benadryl.

It is no secret that i had several acute infections episodes over the years, mostly after i came to the US when now i believe i was exposed intensively (more than possible to any random source), intentionally, though it is possibly not knowingly, by some people who include this type of exposures in their training, rituals, name it.

I read today again about the link between the so called schizofrenia (a very unfortunate semantic choice) and the infection with T Gondii.

In 2002 i had an episode similar to the current one. Don't know exact the source, though i know i once let a cat inside and fed it. Most likely, again, laundry done in the nearby building. In Vancouver, in December 1995 - June 1996 i lived next to laundry room and it was there i got the first time in a mental  hospital.

Back then (2002) i befriended a guy from the church, David who looked exactly like Tom Cruise would had if he gained some pounds. (I found out by chance a few years later that Tom Cruise did gain some weight for a movie in that period). So i went to his place, complained about symptoms wich unlike now, included insomnia, because of anxiety and high from the parasite, and probably actions unrecognized as such by the neighbors, and he, a bit ceremonially, handed me a few pills of benadryl, which i took, he used the word "allergies" in a very strange way, with a sad/sarcastic smile on his face, i went back home, i took some, gave Angela too and in a day or so my symptoms became acceptable. It was the first time when i "beat the disease" that is i got away without hospitalisation. I didn't like it though cause it was making me drowsy and the taste it left in my mouth, and then i tried different allergy pills, i think i stopped at Claritin, mostly for my nasal congestion. But of course i abandoned everything after i felt better and forgot about the whole thing. And in December, i got sick again, after a gastroscopy during which i got two broken ribs (they did it under light sedation i guess), in September, i got back to the mental ward where i was treated by dr. Harrison Ford and his assistant, Carrie Fisher, etc..

But did you know that modern antipsychotic medicine were discovered by chance and were initially used for allergies? Could it be they are neither of both but actually suppress the T Gondii which gives all the symptoms?

Another article i ran into was about how Toxoplasmosis contribute to the symptoms and outcome of sepsis, a disease that can be deadly when you develop what they call a sepsis shock, which is similar to anaphylactic shock (sudden drop in blood pressure) and it may start in the peritoneum.

Also figured that cats host the parasite more than other animals because the abundance of linoleic acid in their intestines, because of lack of an enzyme that breaks it down in all the other animals, where the parasites can multiply sexually.

Sunday, April 4, 2021

The Saga of the Headlights

Today it start a new chapter of my life. The one with real headlights.

I've been driving the Nissan with foggy lamps for so long i've forgotten how the headlights should be like. In the meantime quality standards have changed. When i got the Hyundai i found the original right headlight in the trunk. On the car, there was an aftermarket one . That was when i knew the car's been in an accident, partially fixed and sold at Copart as "minor dents and scratches". But i head bigger problems to worry about than the adjustment of the headlight. Needed a battery. A windshield reservoir. Other parts unseen at the auction. The noise at the engine. Tires were leaking because they were installed with the labels on (and then trimmed at the wheel's rim). Brakes. Stuck rear brakes. How many flats? If i were to mention every time i opened the hood of that car in three years, i wouldn't finish until daylight. I think i aspired the intake for oil with a vacuum at least 20 times. But i will mention the quest of the catch can. The last version is different than III. I think i wrote all about on fb.

By the time i fixed all the other things i was already used to the lights the way they were, or like i found them today. Both pointing high in the sky. I was seeing only with the edge of the beams that were touching the ground. When i was turning on the high beam, reflecting signs were blinding me. Light was too low in front of the car so my eyes were getting used to the dark and was blinding by most cars with high beam or out of adjustment. I think i i would look crazy if i said, half of the cars on the street had headlights out of adjustment, but i think this is was the situation. They did it hoping that one day i will realize? Well, i did. After 3 years.

Had them off the car today, studied them a bit, put them back on, in the right positions, with all screws tightened and adjusted them on my way back from Lincoln City. Had to stop at least three times but it was worth it. Now i can see what it means newer technology headlights. With high beams i can see like in daylight 300 ft away. I can't believe when i see the difference now ho i could drive 50k miles with that car, more than half of it at night.

The bale of hay on Christmas eve. Can't remember if I5 was illuminated in that area. Several deer. A rabbit, a coyote, racoons, a wheel that came out of a semi. That one, i just went over, it was in the middle of the lane, too late to do anything). Should i had braked, i think i would have lowered to front of the car and hit it with the engine. Car was on cruise control, maybe i was lucky enough to pass it when the car was accelerating and raising the front. Skidding on ice at 80 mph, last Christmas eve.

In  this picture it is shown the American standard for headlights. I think mine are too low (short) now, but i saw some even lower on my way back here. Anyways. They were totally out of whack.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

The Invisible Dark Screen

The ninja are trained to be subtle enough to do things to you that are not even perceived. Provide you with an incredible high while taking your minds (let your brain be eaten by parasites that produce dopamine). Masked in ordinary things, with a slightly different rate, or occurrence or location.

Every time i went with my nose real close to a window screen i felt the smell of mold. How is that possible, manny would ask. Windows screen are outside, exposed to wind and sun, and look clean.

It is possible and i'm going to prove it to you. Not only that, but it can be used as intermediary buffer, between you and the ninja.

I usually start my searches with what i know about a subject. I knew windows screens, the kinda i have here at the apartment are made of of a woven fiberglass yarn that is coated with PVC. No matter how much i tried right now, (got tired after first hour of searches, right after "i came to terms" that is, actual, real search terms after i became familiar with the subject), i can't find a better magnification.

What happens is glass, (ordinary glass, not quartz of optical) is opaque to Sun's disinfecting UV. If the PVC coat gets damaged, then all kinda stuff will get inside the woven yarn. And grow in there and get ready for the next jump. Inside and onto you.

Windows screens are really another major health hazard i identified in American homes.

I wash them regularly (used to every 6 months, now every month) with a micro-fiber cloth, water and a drop of detergent. Water comes dirty mostly due to dust that settles onto it that also harbors a whole biology.

Prior to re-painting of all buildings (by SAGE team) the screens upstairs where so dirty, they turned red-brown (due to redwood chips, got pictures, somewhere). Two years after power washing, they now already started to look different then mine, that i keep as clean as possible. But when i washed them last night, disturbing and breathing the dust, i thought i felt the distinctive smell of cat. When they got warmed by the worm water that i used. Today i know i got reinfected, big time.

So don't be shy as i was before i became desperate enough, removed them from windows and washed them with a sponge and the showerhead in the tub. First time i did that here the water came black.

That was before i realized you can wash them on the window. They won't break, even after many washes. That fiberglass is quite tough, a similar type is used for reinforcing wall repairs. If you don't believe me, go to Home Depot, buy a piece and try to break it. Or try to walk through a door screen, as i did in Lake Oswego.

Can wash them even from inside with warm water and detergent, water will fall like rain does, through the holes left in window's frame. But easiest is form outside, with windows closed. At least for ground level. Detergent will leave some foam, it will be gone and dried in half hour.

But they won't last long clean, at most a couple of weeks. Careless design, cheap poorly chosen method of fabrication, they're a dirt trap. A bad idea.

In the image the mesh seem to be made of a continuous string, but it's many tiny woven fiberglass strings.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Sugar Free Fast Meatloaf

A 3 pounds (1.35 kilos) pack of 93% ground beef at Safeway with rewards card cost around 10 bucks (3.49 a pound). It's got meat in the equivalent of 12 quarter pounder burgers.

About 15-30 minutes hands on time. 1 hour in the oven.

A small onion or half large onion and one large tomato or two small are a must for this recipe. 2 spoons of steel cut oats, one half bell pepper, one egg, spices, 20 gr of salt (one topped tablespoon). Chop everything as small as you can, mix with a fork using it on a side like a knife, trying to break the meat, for about 5 minutes or until homogeneous (watch for the small angry face in the middle of the meat).

Lay it in a glass pan. The main trick with this recipe is you have to cover it with something like tomato sauce, V8, so the meat won't get burnt. Original meatloaf recipe is with ketchup but that one contains (lots of) sugar.

After one hour of which first ten minutes at medium, than medium low, it shrinks about 3/4 inch on all sides. Let it rest on oven top for 10 minutes, put it in a smaller glass pan with lid and in the fridge it should last for several days.