Your projects, what are you working on in your free time? Options

[Decrepit]

Ancestry / DNA / etc:
My results are in. And boring they are, for the most part. Ancestry wise, they are exactly what I expected. I'm 99% European, of which 97.1% is Northwestern European. Of that 97.1%, 60.3% is English / Irish, 26.5% German / French (my maternal grandmother accounts for German ancestry), 2.4% Scandinavian, 7.9% "broadly Northwestern European." There is also 1.1% Iberian (Southern European). Everything else is below 1%, comfortably within margin of error territory. The only other thing worth mentioning is sub-Saharan African, which 23andMe shows as 0.8%, all from West Africa.

I have 281 Neanderthal DNA variants. That's more than 56% of 23andMe customers.

Wow. I mean WOW. Was it really expensive to get that information? If it doesn't cost an arm and a leg I'd be very tempted to try that myself...

Alas, it ain't cheap. Leastwise I don't consider it cheap. But it depends somewhat. I purchased the full testing option, which includes both ancestry and health. You can opt for just ancestry which is, if memory serves, half the price of the "deluxe" option. Too, 23andMe has periodic sales. I've seen kits go for as much as half off, though those sales are rare. If you decide to go with 23andMe, I'd wait for a good sale. 23andMe isn't the only game in town, DNA testing wise. Nor is it necessarily the best if your sole focus is Ancestry. (So far as I know, it's the only service that does Neanderthal testing, and possibly health info, if you're interested in that.) I believe AncestryDNA (if that's its correct name) has a decent reputation on the ancestry side, but don't quote me. You can find tons of videos on DNA ancestry testing at YouTube. Here's one such video, focused on one gentleman's evaluation of 23andMe.

[Decrepit]

More 23andMe info:
Checked out its "DNA relatives" section. Results here include only those who use 23andMe and authorize their DNA results to be shared. In my case, those results include no close relatives and first cousins, which isn't surprising. I have 1067 participating third and forth cousins, and "many" fifth and distant cousins. Alas, all these are shown to hale from the USA. I was hoping against hope to find an identifiable link with the "old world." I didn't dig further into any of the known DNA relatives. Not sure I care too.

On the other hand, 23andMe informs me they will soon be better able to differentiate some of their lumped together ancestry groupings. I might might soon get a better breakdown of what is currently "English/Irish" and "German/French."

On other matters, my "games" partition was uncomfortably full. This morning I shrunk my "Productively Programs" partition and expanded "games" to fill the now unused space. I now have 50gb to play with. That's not a lot these days, but should see me through at least two gaming purchases. If and when that fills, I can shave a bit off my Oblivion partition. After that, I'll need to add a new drive.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Mar 29 2018, 03:20 PM

[Burnt Sierra]

Alas, it ain't cheap. Leastwise I don't consider it cheap. But it depends somewhat. I purchased the full testing option, which includes both ancestry and health. You can opt for just ancestry which is, if memory serves, half the price of the "deluxe" option. Too, 23andMe has periodic sales. I've seen kits go for as much as half off, though those sales are rare. If you decide to go with 23andMe, I'd wait for a good sale. 23andMe isn't the only game in town, DNA testing wise. Nor is it necessarily the best if your sole focus is Ancestry. (So far as I know, it's the only service that does Neanderthal testing, and possibly health info, if you're interested in that.) I believe AncestryDNA (if that's its correct name) has a decent reputation on the ancestry side, but don't quote me. You can find tons of videos on DNA ancestry testing at YouTube. Here's one such video, focused on one gentleman's evaluation of 23andMe.

Thanks! Going to do a little research over this weekend, and see if anything is even close to my price range. Suspect that I'll fall into the category of "cheap but demanding", but you never know.

[Decrepit]

Today's projects:

1) Survive this afternoon dental appointment.
.....a) Filling: Turns out the tooth in question didn't have a cavity. No dental work needed.
..... Tooth extraction: This turned out more complicated than expected. In consequence I've had a good bit of bleeding, and am told to expect more than "normal" pain.
.....c) Reclaim my upper partial with new tooth added to replace the now missing crowned tooth that had to be extracted. I've no idea how well the partial fits, and won't know until I'm able to wear it again without endangering the extraction area.

2) Survive this afternoon's storms: Done! They have now passed to our east.

3) Place an order with Amazon for printer toner and an air blower for my PCs. Done.

More on tooth extraction. Found out it wasn't just the crown that came loose. What remained of the natural tooth itself had also broken off, down to the gum line. There wasn't enough real tooth left to anchor another crown. Ergo its removal. There are of course other options, but those are out of my price range.

[mirocu]

Uff. Teeth projects are rarely any fun

[Decrepit]

Uff. Teeth projects are rarely any fun

Tell me about it!!!! I had so much dental work done in early adulthood most anything done to me these days seems a walk in the park. Gotta admit this tooth extraction is something of a bother. Still can't eat crunchy foods, which rules out my salad suppers and daily apples. Can't vigorously gargle, which keeps me from taking my daily medicated inhaler treatments (for a chronic lung condition).

I kept sane throughout the extraction, especially after overhearing that the tooth was being stubborn and refusing to come out, by visualizing the appropriate scene from a favorite short film. (I honestly did.)

Today's dental followup appointment was short and sweet. The dentist noted that the extraction area was still swollen and tender, which I could have told her over the phone, and prescribed a mouthwash that will supposedly help it heal faster. I go back next Thursday for stitching removal.

[mirocu]

I got my bottom wisdom teeth out a few years back. Had to do surgery since they grew sideways and couldn't just be extracted. First removal actually bothered me less than the second one, same guy did both I think. I don't know why. Could barely eat and not brush my teeth at all after each time so I got a heavy sort of mouthwash that took care of it.

It was a huge bother but I'm so glad I got them out!

[mirocu]

Minor project today at the cottage.


Put two support beams up in the middle of my carport to strengthen the roof. It has withstood lots of snow since 2011 when it was built but I figured I might as well strengthen it now. I will also as soon as possible remove the roof itself to put plastic under it before putting it back on again. As I'm not truly a builder I didn't have condensation in mind. We will also do this to the newly built garage I posted pictures of last fall.

Live and learn

[Decrepit]

Not much to today's dental appointment. They removed my stitching and set me up to return in two weeks for further evaluation and upper partial adjustment.

Got in a decent walk soon after lunch. Can't get into them like I did last year. Not yet at any rate.

(My lawn mower belt replacement project was at last accomplished, and the lawn mowed, but I posted about it in the wrong thread.)

[mirocu]

(My lawn mower belt replacement project was at last accomplished, and the lawn mowed, but I posted about it in the wrong thread.)

(I still read it )

[mirocu]

Today's project; installing battery into and testing excavator.

Everything worked nicely although it needed some help to start. I also needed to replace a fuse, or rather put one in as it was missing altogether. Nothing major; it merely controlled the warning light on the roof and the horn.

This post has been edited by mirocu: Apr 15 2018, 03:39 PM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

I'm hoping to start a podcast sometime over the summer. I don't know the first thing about setting one up, equipment needed, etc. so there isn't much of a plan in place right now. Going to do some research and see what it takes to get one going. All I know is the general topic I want to talk about.

[mirocu]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!


------------------

Project Fixing Roof Because I Didn't Think Beforehand (working title)

Roof off
Plastic on


Tomorrow will see Roof on so stay tuned!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!


------------------

Project Fixing Roof Because I Didn't Think Beforehand (working title)

Roof off
Plastic on


Tomorrow will see Roof on so stay tuned!

Ooh cliffhanger, lol

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!

Thanks, 'Rocu. We'll have to see how it goes. If I do start it, I might even give you all a link to it if you want (although I'd rather do it through a private message instead of out in public on a forum post). Although I'm not sure if it is a topic most people here would be interested in.

[mirocu]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!


------------------

Project Fixing Roof Because I Didn't Think Beforehand (working title)

Roof off
Plastic on


Tomorrow will see Roof on so stay tuned!

Ooh cliffhanger, lol

And now, the conclusion

Roof on

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!


------------------

Project Fixing Roof Because I Didn't Think Beforehand (working title)

Roof off
Plastic on


Tomorrow will see Roof on so stay tuned!

Ooh cliffhanger, lol

And now, the conclusion

Roof on

Kaplak! ‘Rocu done did that.

[Acadian]

Nice work there, mirocu! When are you opening your shop and going into business?

[mALX]

Good luck with the podcast, Rader!


------------------

Project Fixing Roof Because I Didn't Think Beforehand (working title)

Roof off
Plastic on


Tomorrow will see Roof on so stay tuned!

Ooh cliffhanger, lol

And now, the conclusion

Roof on

WOO HOO!!! And you didn't mention it in these posts, but you also built that shed you are putting the roof on, and did a spectacular job on it!

[mirocu]

To quote from Oblivion; You do me too much honor.


And yeah, I mean it. While the carport fills its function well enough, it is not nearly as nice and neat as it could have been. Not that I have skimped on anything or rushed it through, but I don't always think about every aspect that goes into building. So to answer Acadian; not in the foreseeable future