Probe the Galaxy on a Shoestring with this DIY Hydrogen-Line Telescope — Hackaday

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Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

Foil-lined foam insulation board, scraps of lumber, and a paint-thinner can hardly sound like the tools of a radio astronomer. But when coupled with an SDR, a couple of amplifiers, and a fair amount of trial-and-error tweaking, it’s possible to build your own hydrogen-line radio telescope and use it to image the galaxy. As the…

via Probe the Galaxy on a Shoestring with this DIY Hydrogen-Line Telescope — Hackaday

Trains

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Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

via Trains

RDP-Sunday-CORRUPT

Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

It seems the whole world is caught in a vortex. There is no way to avoid the word that swirls in the air.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt is CORRUPT.

Find inspiration. Challenge yourself to use this word in a positive manner. Post your inspiration with a pingback to this post. Don’t forget to use the tags ‘RDP’, ‘Ragtag Daily Prompt’, and ‘corrupt’.

Let’s see what we each have to say.

May your Sunday be full of laughter, love and music.

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Roughing It, Volume Fourteen — claytoonz

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Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

Last Thursday, when I started working on a cartoon for CNN Opinion’s newsletter, the Whistelbowergate thingy was just breaking. I thought it was our topic but my editor was afraid that by the time the cartoon ran on Sunday, that it would be outdated. That was my concern too. He was interested in some other […]

via Roughing It, Volume Fourteen — claytoonz

FOTD – September 29, 2019 – Autumn Leaf

Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

Cee's Photo Challenges

Feel free to post every day or when you you feel like it. Please continue to post your entries on my daily post. Here is a link to my FOTD page. Thanks.

Don’t forget that my FOTD challenge accepts leaves and berries as well as flowers.

I’ve gathered a list of challenges and their hosts. So if you know a challenge host, please direct them to my blog. Feel free to contact me anytime. I hope everyone will be able to use my lists.

Qi (energy) hugs

Cee

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Your Daily Word Prompt – Capacity – September 29, 2019

Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

Your Daily Word Prompt

⇑Click the banner to visit September’s prompt Page ⇑

Daily Prompts – Words and Images

To participate in This Daily Prompt, all you have to do is publish a post on your own blog that responds to the prompt. It can be words, images anything that you like. Put the link (listed below) in your post to create the automatic pingback. You can leave a link to your post in the comments if you wish.

Today’s Word: Capacity

Please link to this prompt in your post by using this URL link in the text of your post or at the end of your post:

https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/your-daily-word-prompt-capacity-september-29-2019/

Make sure to check out the comment links and pingbacks to view other posts inspired by today’s prompt.

Thank you and happy blogging.

-Sheryl

End blurb

To report issues with the daily post please contact me directly.

⇓Click here to visit Sheryl’s blog

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53 Organic Living Tips

Posted on 28 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

Faucet water contains fluoride in all 50 states. Purchase a reverse osmosis filter to remove it. A Britta filter won’t be enough.
Chlorine in water will evaporate after a few hours. Just leave it in a filter or jug in your fridge overnight.
Though Nalgene bottles are BPA-free, they’ve been found to leech other chemicals. Use glass bottles to be 100% safe.
Avoid anti-bacterial soap. Residue on dishes and hands gets in the stomach and kills your “good bacteria.”
Cooking with coconut oil is better than olive oil. It has more Omega-3s and doesn’t oxidize in sunlight or high temperatures.
Tom’s toothpaste is a great alternative to traditional toothpaste. It’s fluoride free and avoids many additive chemicals.
Setting up a vertical garden takes a week or two, but can pay off in organic produce for years.
Coconut or almond based ice cream is a fantastic way to indulge, without eating dairy.
Most organic eggs come from cooped up chickens fed organic produce. For true free range eggs, find a local farmer on localharvest.org.
“Organically made” is not the same as “Organic.” “Freely Traded” is not the same as “Free Trade.” Those former foods aren’t certified.
Avoid cheap vegetable oils at all costs. They’re high in Omega-6 and very unhealthy.
Most “grass fed” beef are still grain finished. For 100% grass fed beef, look for a local farm you can buy from.
Most fruits have quite a high glycemic index. The exception are berries (including strawberries) which are low GI and very healthy.
Think you can’t afford organic? Buy foods that are in season. It’s both more inexpensive and healthier.
Have a favorite seasonal food? Buy it when it’s in season, then freeze it. It’s healthier than buying it out of season.
Avoid large fish like tuna. Large fish eat small fish and build up higher concentrations of mercury.
Avoid multi-vitamins. Instead, build your own vitamin stack. Most multi-vitamins skimp on the important nutrients.
Consider supplementing Omega-3s. It’s perhaps the most important supplement of all for the health conscious.
Look up and remember when your local farmer’s markets are. They’re cheaper, and you can ask directly about how the food was grown.
Buy green cleaning products to avoid chemicals like ammonia or chlorine in your house.
Not all food has to be labeled “Organic” to be healthy. If you’re buying directly from the farmer, ask how it was made.
Sign up for your local fruit or veggie boxes. Farmers will deliver fresh organic produce straight to your door.
See if there are food co-ops near you. These co-ops grow organic food and sell it to their local markets.
Carrots, beets and radishes are very easy to grow. If you want to give growing a shot, that’s a good place to start.
Try to eat as much of your produce raw as possible. Cooking destroys enzymes and can reduce vitamin content by 12x.
Soak produce in 1/3rd vinegar and 2/3rds water to kill bacteria, if eating it raw.
Check the OCA’s website to buy organic foods online – organicconsumers.org
Trader Joe’s is a great, lower-cost alternative to Whole Foods. Do you shop there?
Subscribe to health coupon sites for deals. organicdeals.com healthsavers.com mambosprouts.com
Look for “specials” in supermarkets (including Whole Foods.) These mean the food’s in season and affordable.
Organic beans are a great source of protein. Make sure you cook them thoroughly, as semi-cooked beans are toxic.
Quinoa is a complete amino acid and provides your body with all the proteins you need. Yummy and easy to cook, too!
Buy your organic chickens whole. It’s cheaper than buying by the part, and you can use the carcass to make broth.
Most coffee shops (including Starbucks) sell Fair Trade but not organic coffee. Organic coffee is available online or in Whole Foods.
Use the bulk isle. You can buy everything from beans to quinoa to nuts while saving money and saving packaging.
You can order organic snack bars in bulk, affordably at Amazon.com. It’s as much as 50% cheaper than buying at the store.
Never eat the skin of non-organic papayas or mangos. Some are dipped in toxic pesticides when they cross the border.
When buying seeds, make sure you’re buying non-GMO. If it doesn’t say it’s non-GMO, don’t assume that it is.
Make your jams at home. Most commercial jams (even organic) like peanut butter jam or strawberry jam are high in sugar.
Agave nectar isn’t much healthier than traditional sugar. Organic honey is better, while organic coconut sugar is best.
Store your olive oil in a dry place, outside of sunlight. Oxidized olive oil is very dangerous.
Nut milks in supermarkets contain a lot of additive ingredients. For best results, make your own. It only takes 10 mins.
Nuts can be healthy snacks, but they’re also very high in fat and calories. Enjoy them, but eat in moderation.
Bananas are high GI and low in nutritional value. Plantains are low GI and much healthier. But they need to be cooked.
Add a few Brazil nuts to your diet. It’s one of the few foods high in selenium, which is good for your hormones and your thyroid.
Buy good salt. Good salt can add dozens of minerals to your diet. One jar of Himalayan sea salt can last a year.
Avoid Teflon. If you must cook with Teflon, never ever place metal into the pan.
Rice has very little nutritional value, but isn’t unhealthy either. Use sparingly.
Don’t forget about eBay. You can find great deals for organic foods at steep discounts!
Stay to the end of Farmer’s Markets. They’ll often give out last minute deals to clear out inventory.
Put paper towels on the edges of your fridge’s veggie drawer. It’ll draw the moisture and preserve your greens.
Spinach wilted? As long as it doesn’t don’t smell, you can still cook it and it will be just as good.
Check Meetup.com for organic potlucks and meetups. They can be a fun way to add variety to your diet.

How To Plan For Unexpected Expenses

Posted on 28 Sep 2019 by Henrietta Watson

It’s just a matter of time before it happens. The transmission blows on your car right around the time your daughter needs braces and your washing machine decides to call it quits. All of these are unexpected expenses and something we need to deal with throughout life.

Being prepared as much as you can is your best bet when live throws you a financial curve ball.

Do your best to anticipate upcoming expenses. If you’re driving an older car, or your dishwasher has seen its better days, start saving up to replace the item. You may also want to start keeping an eye out for good deals on the replacement.

An even better strategy is to have an emergency savings fund. Set up a savings account and add to it monthly. Use it only for completely unexpected expenses. Make sure you know what’s in the account. And once you have to take money out of it replace it as quickly as possible.

This brings us to a good point. Here’s how to recover quickly after that purchase. Go over your budget (you have one of those, right?) and look if you can temporarily cut back on some things. Stop ordering Pizza every Friday night and make your own at home. Skip a night out on the town and watch a couple of movies on Netflix instead of going to the theatre.

Use the money you’re not spending for the next few months to refill your emergency fund. For an extra boost, work a few hours of overtime, do a few freelance projects or temporarily pick up a part time job to get back on track fast.

But what do you do when the expense comes up before you had a chance to set up the emergency fund? Take a deep breath and assess the situation. Can you make do without the item for a little while? Just long enough to scrape together the funds to repair or replace it. If it’s the dishwasher, that’s easy. You can wash dishes by hand for a little while. If it’s the fridge or the car you rely on to get you to work each day, that’s a different story.

If you need the item that broke, evaluate if it would be less expensive to repair than replace. Even if it isn’t the perfect solution, it may get you to work until you can safe up for a different car. Shuffle your money around and if there is no other option charge it to the credit card and get to work. Your one and only goal right now is to pay off that expense. If you stick every penny of discretional income in, it won’t take you long.

One your bills and credit cards are paid off, do what you can to get that emergency fund set up. Because you know something else will break down the road.