An Update Or Two

I don’t get on Tblog as often anymore, partly because there is no chat function anymore. It was an easy way to see who was around and who was posting new items. The “recent post” function now just shows the same guy posting commercial messages. I would block his IP but that is me

I manage a number of websites for people and use WordPress for many of them. I use at least 2 free software packages to block hackers and specific countries for the sites. It turns out that about 3 or 4 countries are the main culprits.

There appear to be chat modules for WordPress but they may have the same problems that allow spammers.

As for the rest of my activities, I have been using my VOIP telephone service to call into a Torquay (U.K.) community radio station (http://Riviera.Fm) to chat. A 10 minute call costs me 8 cents! A neighbor has a massive phone bill and is paying $35 or more for home phone service. I took her a device and she is transferring her current phone number to it. Her monthly cost will drop to perhaps $3 a month or less.

We have had a tremendous amount of rain recently. At least 6 or 8 tropical storms have passed by, some were or later became hurricanes, etc. Local flooding showed water-mellow-sized rocks rolling down the roads. The ground is just so saturated and we have had so many flash flood watches and warnings.

A friend ad his wife are still working on buying a farm here. The first 2 properties he tried for were foreclosures and Fannie Mae pulled both off the market after making his wait 6 to 9 months on each. This new farm is not a Fannie Mae property and is going faster towards closing. The farm already has mature coffee tress. Since he will be moving and settling in, I made arrangements to manage the first crop for him. I will guide him through the picking, processing and selling stages and run his website for him. I’ll buy the coffee cherry at the going rate and take the profits. Then he and his wife can take over the management of his farm. I am helping him come up with a label design and brand.

As for my own farm, my coffee isn’t doing as well. Because I was laid up for quite some time, my crop suffered. No pruning, no fertilizing and thus no real need to pick. I had one picking this season and called the pickers to come today or tomorrow. t will be a somewhat sparse year for my own coffee. However, I expect that the rain and my ability to get out to fertilize now will help. Some of my fruit trees will also need some tender care, but most are not ready for any kind of real production yet.

My cable company increased their speed at no increase in price, so I went from a download speed of 14 mbs to 94 mbs almost over night! When internet speeds increase like that, they help uncover slow computer performance too. It may be time for a newer system.

I am turning 65 soon. That means a transition from my old company-sponsored health plan to Medicare. I changed the plan slightly and will realize a $200 savings each month. I can still keep Kaiser, my HMO but will have to pay more for co-pays and prescriptions, etc, but still not bad as long as I have no major issues this next year.

I also renegotiated my home and hurricane insurance to save a few hundred dollars a year. I have considered dropping hurricane insurance, but this year, as mentioned above, has been a real eye opener with storms. I think I’ll keep hurricane insurance a bit longer.

My neighbor Denvers’ book “Southwestern Songline” is getting good reviews on Amazon. It is available in both paperback and Kindle format. http://denvercdavis.com has more info.

I spoke with my Mom the other day. It is hard to know if it is her medicine or just old age creeping up on here as she has to think a bit longer before responding and sometimes loses track of her thoughts. I guess it is understandable since she is 94 and 1/2. That is about 34,000 days! Where does the time go?

I have been taking blood pressure medicine for quite some time. The current version I take twice a day and has 2 main drawbacks. Oh it works OK but I am constantly tired and it causes dreams both vivid and odd. I wonder where I come up with some of the scenarios They are not nightmares, just dreams that I remember. Perhaps at some point I can have the dosage reduced.

I am a member of a frequent flyer forum but don’t fly often anymore. Still, a member was in the area and invited me into town for a beer yesterday. There was a group of friends of his there also who all came for a vacation and some golf. United Airlines was a common denominator and some were or had been pilots.

I helped fund a Kickstarter campaign to produce an android computer that fits in your hand (and is cheap). Shipments start in October to those who invested. They raised $1.6 million which exceeded their goal quite a bit. Here are 2 videos they produced showing live streaming and so on.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jidetech/remix-mini-the-worlds-first-true-android-pc/posts/1363504?ref=email

That’s about all for now.