Guggle Muggle, what the fuggle?

August 9, 2010

A little over a week ago I began having a sore throat.  It then grew into coughing (especially at night and when I first woke up) as well as a headache in the evenings.  I thought I had a cold (as it turns out it was Chronic Sinusitis according to my Doctor).  I tried drinking lots of fluids, eating chicken noodle soup, lots of teas, cough drops, Robitussin CF…everything I could think of to no avail.  Then I read about drinking a “Guggle Muggle” before bed.  I actually read it in a book of mine, not online, but the link I gave is the same thing.  I used the citrus version.

Mix the juice of:
1 Orange
1 Grapefruit
1 Lemon

With 1 tablespoon honey and 1 ounce of liquor (something in the 70-80 proof range will do).  Heat the substance in a sauce pan and drink it down before bed and it will get rid of your cold.

Now, I will say it didn’t fully help me, but as I mentioned before, I didn’t have a cold but rather Chronic Sinusitis.  It does seem like a pretty good remedy for a cold though, and I did sleep through the whole night which is much better than I had been doing prior.

**Note**
I thought it was putrid when I tried the Guggle Muggle using Jim Beam whiskey, it was much better using Captain Morgan’s rum instead.

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Cold or Allergy?

August 5, 2010

I’ve been feeling cruddy all week.  Actually, come to think of it, the craptastic post nasal drip and associated sore throat started last week.  Anyway, it was bad enough that I missed work yesterday.  I still feel cruddy, but at least not as bad.  I’m not entirely sure if it is a cold or just my allergies.  Allergy season (for me) is pretty well done, and my mucus has been greenish which is normally a good sign that it’s a cold and not allergen related.  The cure (so far): Robitussin CF every 4 hours, 3,000mg of Vitamin C 3 times daily, 9-10 cups of water daily.

Good dinner-time talk right there, folks.

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Finally made a “good” weld

August 2, 2010

In January I bought my first welder – a 50 amp 110v arc (stick) welder.  I played with it a bit then, and couldn’t really get a good weld going.  I didn’t have much time for it then, so it got parked in my basement.  Yesterday I finally got a chance to use it again and to do more than just play with it.  I had a bulkhead door with a broken hinge that has been pestering me to weld it for over a year.  So I pulled out the welder, prepped the area (grinding etc), clamped the hinge pieces where I wanted them and welded away.  It took three tries to get it just right, but it is all fixed now.  The weld is kinda ugly, but very strong.  I’m hoping with time and more experience I will be able to make good looking welds as well.

And here is a picture of the little fella (it has a new ground clamp and electrode holder now though):

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NiZn – Battery of the future

July 29, 2010

It’s been talked about for quite a while now, but NiZn (Nickel Zinc) batteries are finally available for sale to regular consumers.  They cost very little less than a standard rechargeable NiCad or NiMH battery but they charge faster, handle loads better, put out more voltage per cell (a little bit more than a standard alkaline) and are also very recyclable with NO heavy metals being used in their construction.  To make this even sweeter, it is an American company that has done all of this.  The good people at PowerGenix can’t be thanked for this new technology directly (Edison did this many years ago), but they can be thanked for making it functional and commercially viable.

I plan on getting some to try out in my Xbox controllers and the like.  People have long argued that NiCads and NiMH batteries are good for the environment, but then you have to get rid of all that heavy metal, and what if someone throws them in the trash instead of recycling?  Finally, there is a rechargeable that is actually good for the environment.

But wait, there’s more!  They are lighter too, which for AA application doesn’t matter, but for a car carrying hundreds of lbs of Li-ion batteries right now, it could be a nice upgrade.

Wikipedia has more facts about NiZn batteries if you’re interested.

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Bye Bye Mercury

July 28, 2010

Ford is letting Mercury fade away.  The announcement was made almost 2 months ago, with little fanfare (probably how I missed hearing about it till now despite being a Ford guy).  2010 will be the last model year for all Mercury models.  Ford is phasing Mercury out so they can focus on the Ford and Lincoln brands, much like Harley Davidson has phased out the Buell line to refocus itself.

Overall I think it will be a good thing for Ford.  My first car was a 1994 Mercury Tracer, so it is very sad seeing the brand disappear.  Mercury will always hold a certain place in my heart.

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