The balloon was very close to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana which stores nuclear missiles. https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-spy-balloon-us-nuclear-base-minuteman-surveillance-montana-2023-2?op=1 A suspected Chinese spy balloon is operating near a sprawling base that houses 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. . . . Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton echoed the senator on CNN, saying that alongside spying on ballistic missile bases, the balloon could also be "looking at the strategic bomber bases that we have in the Dakotas." https://www.malmstrom.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/346869/341st-missile-wing/ The 341st Missile Wing currently operates, maintains and secures Minuteman III missiles, providing strategic deterrence for the nation as the wing has continuously done since 1962 - remaining America's "Ace in the Hole." Around Hamilton, Montana, in the western part of the state, is a Biosafety Level 4 lab where they study quite a few dangerous pathogens. It is one of the labs that analyzed the Covid virus so that other scientists could make the vaccines, meds, etc. The husband of a friend of mine is a scientist there. The lab is about 50 miles south of Missoula. I don’t know if the balloon flew over them, though. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-overview

Off tangent but for those of you mentioning omega 3/6, a good way to check that ratio is with an omega-3 index test. Improving the o-3 index leads to better health in many ways. It is quite astounding actually. It’s a simple diy finger prick test that you send in to get analyzed. Everyone in my family gets one for Christmas and then does the finger poke around New Year’s Day repeating around June 1st if the January results were not optimal. We get the $80 test but they also sell one for $50 that has less info. These are the same tests that Life Extension sells, btw, in case you see it on their site. https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-plus/

@SHP Have any of your MDs suggested using a vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) for your gastroparesis? Some places have been trialing the handheld devices recently. They would take at least a few weeks and maybe a few months of daily use. My phone isn’t letting me link a search but if you type this into Google, you should be able to get the same results. You might already know about VNS as well. vagal nerve stimulator for gastroparesis

Well, tomorrow I am going to see if I can buy a bottle here and then I’ll compare it to the US variety over a few months if necessary.

Duty called, Bill. 😋

So, am “taste testing” a Mexican Campari Negroni for the sake of ~research~ and, yes, it is quite delicious. 😁

I am in Mexico right now and just ate a delicious dish featuring nopales. Along with a gazpacho made from red beets which was ridiculously good. I don’t drink much but do like Campari. I might see if I can buy a bottle here.

Did your doctors have anything to say about H. pylori? Or size of polyps? Some of your symptoms can be caused by the polyps. Did you have a Covid infection before symptoms began? Some people develop gastritis afterward. People try different things and that might be your best bet along with being monitored by your doctors. Some people take zinc carnosine, for example. Or temporarily cut out even more foods. Fasting would increase the production of beta hydroxybutyrate in your gut, intestines, which might be helpful but not sure about the stomach. Maybe. https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/what-type-of-fasting-is-best-rhonda-patrick It’s good you have a more definitive diagnosis. You can at least try different treatments that target it.

👍🏼👍🏼to red and near infrared light here, too!

I am a cat grandma to a son’s four cats. They each have their own carrier and their own little cat caves. So much cat stuff when they come to stay with us!

The one product I consistently use is sunscreen—Elta MD tinted. For washing my face, usually Lush Montalbano lemon shampoo or Pink Vitabath body soap. I don’t wear makeup but for dry skin Lush’s Lime & Coconut lotion called Lime Bounty, I think. I also think it’s important to wear good quality sun glasses to protect eyes from UV damage.

The clots and embolisms caused by Covid are not like typical clots. One problem is that they are difficult to test for or even see. However, recently, Resia Pretorius has been teaching other researchers, such as Akiko Iwasaki, how to image them so that should be helpful. The clots are very resistant to breaking down and can persist. D-dimer measures broken particles of clots that are circulating in blood. The persistence is a problem. Pretorius is using three anticoagulants which has helped some, however of those people some are seeing clots return. Researchers are working on different treatments, though.

Here is more information about Finland’s suicide rates. Young people there still struggle with mental health issues, though, and in response an updated suicide prevention program was created which is outlined in the link below. https://borgenproject.org/mental-health-in-finland/ Mental health in Finland is not a new issue. The country dealt with dramatically high suicide rates in the 80s and 90s. This led to the creation of the National Suicide Prevention Project in 1986. The Project focused on preventing suicide by strengthening mental health services throughout the country, educating the media on reporting suicides and improving public conversation on mental health. The project was extremely successful as the country’s suicide rates decreased by 50% since 1990.

Hmm. We must be looking at different data. The stats I’ve seen show Finland’s suicide rate has been falling slowly over the past 30 years or so with a few out of sync years. I do think there has been some interesting research in specific areas of mental health recently but it can take many years, even decades, for something new to become more widely accepted and used. This is a bit off tangent but one of the school districts we lived in runs a free program where new research/ideas are presented to interested parents, counselors and educators by the researchers/experts/authors themselves. I found it enlightening at times. If anyone would like to check it out (free!), they do offer some of the taped lectures online which you can find by clicking on the three horizontal bars in the upper right corner. https://www.familyactionnetwork.net/

That’s true but they are willing to address mental illness so as to prevent suicides instead of sweeping it under the rug. Mental illness is less stigmatized there.

I second Finland. Maybe some of the other Scandinavian countries, too.

Not true on my reservation. NAs also disagree with each other on these issues. Many NA and white people who live there have a lot of compassion for those who are struggling and want to make the reservation better for all. It is not as divisive as many are led to believe.

As someone who is part Native American who grew up on a reservation, where both NAs and whites coexist and are friends and have intermarried, those who have not lived on a reservation all too often do not fully understand how difficult life can be for some NA children. Ultimately it is the most vulnerable who suffer, usually children. And it is infuriating and heartbreaking to watch. I am still connected and have witnessed a lot of this over the years. Yes, I would prefer for NA children to maintain involvement with their culture, but their safety, basic needs and well being must be prioritized.

Resia Pretorius would be a someone to follow about PE and the clotting. She is a researcher and professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa whose expertise is coagulation. She recently was in the US teaching others, such as Akiko Iwasaki at Yale, how to test for the microclots. She also has a treatment protocol.

Blue Willow is the company that makes NanoBio Protect which contains BAK. They donated 20,000 to 40,000 bottles to HCWs in the US early on in the pandemic and claim that there were no problems at about 4-6 months after distribution. I can’t find any longer term results, though. The BAK in NanoBio Protect and Nozin is probably okay because the solutions contain only a very small amount of it. The solution is also created for the tissue in the nose. NanoBio does not contain alcohol but Nozin does. Both are applied with a q-tip about 1/2” into the nostril. https://seed.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/bluewillow-nih-success-story-20200630.pdf Blue Willow, which receives funding from the NIH, is the company that makes NanoBio but they also work on nasal vaccines, including one for Covid as well as RSV, Anthrax and a few others. (They are an off shoot of U of Michigan.) They are pretty knowledgeable about creating safe nasal solutions. On a tangent, Blue Willow’s Covid nasal vaccine had some positive results last March but they still have a ways to go: https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/bluewillow-biologics-and-medigen-vaccine-biologics-announce-positive-results-for-intranasal-covid-19-booster-candidate-in-pre-clinical-studies/ **** I did a quick Amazon search and now see there is finally a povidone iodine nasal spray for sale in the US on Amazon for $20. Still a lot of money, imo. That’s another nasal spray option.

The NanoBio Protect is not drying at all, ime at least. You might be more sensitive. I have not seen any instructions for making a diy benzalkonium chloride nasal spray, probably because it could be risky if too much is used. I think only very small amounts are used in sprays like Nozin. If you need something not drying, you could make your own iota carrageenan (IC) saline nasal spray. (It is not sold in the US.) IC will form into a gel. In the linked nasal spray recipe, it’s barely a gel, just slightly. It’s pretty easy to make. Here are the YouTube instructions: https://youtu.be/G45B72HQE6U Tips if you decide to make it: I use Druids Grove iota carrageenan, must be iota, from Amazon. About 1/8 teaspoon per 200 ml saline solution. Sodium chloride solution, sterile, that would be used in a nebulizer. Use fresh, unopened container. Buy more small nasal spray bottles than you’re planning to fill because it’s likely 1-2 will not spray well. Of course, wash and sterilize containers and spray parts before filling with IC spray. Use IC spray before exposure if possible. I rarely use the diy IC spray much anymore. My favorite is the NanoBio Protect or Nozin and also Xlear with grapefruit seed extract. So far, so good!

I’ve been around plenty of rich kids (and poor kids) and have never known any to dress up as Nazis. eta: I don’t know what would motivate an individual to do such a thing. Ignorance, lack of genuine empathy maybe.

I agree that it is overpriced but considering how few nasal sprays that have shown some level of protection against Covid are sold in the US, there isn’t much choice. The NanoBio product has lasted two months for my husband and me so I think the Nozin might too. Iota carrageenan nasal spray is easy to make and would cost less than $1 per bottle to make. It is best if used before exposure. We use a diy version and also Xlear occasionally. Plus we mask in most crowded places.

My mother taught piano and organ to children and adults in her free time after work. Her oldest student, a beginner, was in his 90s and lived in a nursing home. Another student in his 60s, a retired engineer and also a beginner, built his own organ somehow and she taught him how to play it. She loved teaching adults. Moral of the story: You are never too old to learn as long as you can physically handle the instrument. You started as a beginner with painting and now are quite good so why not give the cello a try? I think you should go for it!

That could be. He might have been using heroin to self medicate too. It's hard to describe with words what VSS looks like but if you search for it in Google's images, you can get an idea. It's a problem in the brain. Some people also think it could be caused by copper toxicity. It's an after effect for some with Long Covid, too. Doesn't always persist but for some it has. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow_syndrome https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352911 I wonder if higher doses of a good quality B6 could help with depersonalization-derealization since it's been shown to help with anxiety and depression in some people. It would have to be carefully monitored. I also think getting an omega 3 index test and working to get that into a healthy range could be helpful since the brain especially really benefits if it is. Most people are not in a healthy range but it's pretty easy to change. The brain takes about two years to change with supplementation from what I've read a few years ago. Not sure if that's still true but maybe. People with VSS and DPDR are not inclined to murder others, though. Something else was probably going on with Kohberger.