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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.)

(I still read it )

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.

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.

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

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.

And now, the conclusion

Roof on

Kaplak! ‘Rocu done did that.

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

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!

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

Now that it's getting warmer I've resumed near daily exercise-walks. Two of those were in constant drizzle, nothing an umbrella couldn't handle. I also now keep a 10lb dumbbell at the computer (in addition to the 143lb dumbbell) and do periodic sets of curls and a few other lifts.

Prepared this month's State internet purchase tax payment for mailing out tomorrow.

Was gonna mow, but decided to wait until tomorrow afternoon.

Haven't yet missed an exercise-walk. Might tomorrow due to early Dental Exam/Cleaning. (I suspect it'll be too hot by the time I get back from that and a grocery run.)

New project: Replace beloved Logitech MX518 mouse due to dead wheel. Ordered a G703 off Amazon while ago. Paid extra to get it this Wednesday. I NEVER pay for speedy shipping. Never. Shows how important a functional PC mouse can be.

Started doing arm lifts with VERY light weights. Do four sets of ten curls each per arm using a 10lb dumbbell. Also four sets of 10 each per side lifting that same dumbbell to my side with arm held straight and palm facing down. Lastly four sets of 10 each per side lifting straight to the front with arm held straight and palm facing down. This last is the hardest for me. 10lbs is too much for my left arm, so do that lift with 5lb. My left arm trembles even then!

Good to know you're not skimping on the exercise like a certain Crow does, Decrepit!

Missed walking yesterday due to an early morning dental appointment and needing to stay "clean" for a second dental appointment that ended up being postponed until sometime tomorrow TBA. Alas, yesterday was our last non storm day for quite some time. Daily walking is gonna be iffy. I'm gonna try my best to squeeze it in, but it's mostly out of my hands.

New PC mouse arrived yesterday late morning. Set it up as a wireless mouse and ran it that way until this morning, when I converted it to a corded mouse. For the first time I actually prefer it wireless, but need to invest in its somewhat expensive charging "pad" before that's practical.

Need to research this coming Tuedsay's primary Ballot options so I can make informed decisions at the poling station.

Added another dumbbell lift to my exercise routine, this one requiring both dumbbells. (Or all three, myself included.)

Tell me about it. I had to use my old junker mouse because the battery in mine died while I was in the US and the junker mouse was replaced because the left click and wheel are bad.

Projects? I picked up knitting. Made a blanket for my sister's baby even!

For me it's often the side "page-back" button that goes for some reason, at least those on the el-cheapo mice used on my secondary PCs.

I like this G703 quite a lot. Ended up going cordless after all. Its cord is braided, normally a good thing. But, the braiding all too frequently catches on the sharp edge at the rear of my computer desk mouse tray. When that happens mouse movement becomes erratic. So it's cordless for me. No big deal so long as I remember to connect the mouse to its charging cable every few nights after shutting down the PC for the day.

See, I don't shut down. >.>

Mine runs on AA batteries and I need the one I pilfered from the thermometer(got an exterior thermometer in our window) replaced Monday when we hit the store.

Ten more bushtrees planted! And next weekend it'll be another ten. And by my estimates it won't end there; will need another 30 at least to cover where I'm planting them. Good thing they weren't so expensive and that I get a huge tax return this year

Pics or it didn't happen ....

Are you challenging me, mALX?

You should know better by now

Awesome !!!! I absolutely LOVE seeing your work!

Today's lawn mow, rather partial lawn mow, was a struggle. I originally intended to mow Saturday evening. Went outside to begin...to be greeted by water standing on the road and my walkway, water dripping off the roof, and a thoroughly soaked yard. Must have had an un-predicted rain squall not long before. (With my hearing as it is, you can bet I never heard it.) So much for mowing that day.

Next day my brother visited and stayed the night, ruling out a mow.

Yesterday it was too darn hot, and briefly rained again early evening in any case.

Went out this evening, hoping the grass was dry enough. It seemed to be. But no, only the upper part was dry. Still, as high as the lawn had grown and with storms predicted tomorrow, I decided to mow what I could. It was a pain. The mower conked out periodically, and took forever to restart after each stop. Still, I eventually got all the front, both sides, and a decent portion of the back. The rest was both too high and too wet to attempt. Gotta hope it doesn't get super high before a sufficient dry spell hits.

Took a heart reading soon as I was back in the house and out of mowing attire. Blood Pressure 107/61. Pulse 83. Not bad at all under the circumstances.

Forgot to mention that the circa 2 1/2 foot high stump in front of my house, last remains of a large Bradford Pear partially destroyed during our 2009 severe ice storm and taken the rest of the way down to its stump by me, finally rotted to the point it came loose from its also rotted roots. While out mowing yesterday the neighbor lady offered to let me add it to her burn pile. Her son carted away with my wheelbarrow. Good riddance! That thing was a pain to mow around. (Kind of hard to image that less that ten years ago we still had occasional severe winter weather!)

Added several exercises to my daily routine utilizing an ancient el-cheapo Vitamaster rowing machine. First off, my knees don't allow me to do the full body rowing exercise the machine is designed for. But it's perfect for doing what I call "half-arsed" sit ups. I strap my feet in place, position myself so that my rump rests partly off the seat, and do three sets of twenty first thing the morning before turning on the computer. It's about the only way I can do sit ups without a lot of pain in my tailbone area.

Right after lunch I do another three sets of twenty sit ups each. I also do three sets of ten each underhanded arm pulls and three sets of overhanded pulls on the machine before returned to the computer room and doing my dumbbell exercises.

Haven't needed to miss and exercise-walk in ever so long, knock on wood. Need to start out by 0630-0700 to avoid unpleasant heat. I suppose I could do 'em evenings, but I'm just not an evening person. Evenings are devoted solely to vegetating in front of the PC until bedtime, when I retire to the couch where I now sleep and read until nodding off.

Finished mowing the back yard yesterday evening. Despite predictions to the contrary, we had no storms or rain yesterday, allowing grass an extra day to dry. Though rather tall, it cut easily. Had weather been accurately forecast I could have saved both the mower and myself a lot of wear and tear mowing the entire yard yesterday rather than battle tall, somewhat wet grass day before.

Still awaiting USP package delivery. They officially have until 2000, so I can't complain. (Didn't I just?)

ADDENDUM:
Haha. Not five seconds after pressing POST I hear a knock at the door. My package has arrived. Too near supper to mess with it now, other than open the shipping box and make sure all's well.

Today I dug the remaining holes for the Thujas so now I can say for certain how many in total I need. I said about 70 but I was a bit off. When all is said and done I will have planted 54 of them so a bit less than expected. The real issue though is no rain and the fact I have to fill up a watering can five billion times per day and constantly walk back and forth. Ugh.


Seriously need to get a hose I can lengthen.

I cannot for the life of me find someone to put this porch on the house.

This is ridiculous.

Man, I can't believe grass grew so quickly! Needed to mow yesterday evening, and it was last mowed only 5/6 days ago. As it was, thanks to a bit of unexpected dampness and grass height the mower conked out periodically, slowing me down. Was spent by the time I finished. No energy at all, and my ankles were killing me. Woke today still feeling somewhat rundown. Surprisingly, this morning's exercise-walk went splendidly. Lots of energy and a faster pace than usual. Go figure.

Can't Mikael build it?



I've done another change to my carport. Those side beams I put up? Gone. Instead I decided to put thicker ones right under and along the existing thinner ones to support the roof that way. Seems to work great, and now I don't have anything in the way

Mirocu would build a wonderful porch!

Most general contractors have people who do their porches; and if you can ask the contractor to talk to the person who does their decks = they will usually enjoy making some extra funds on nights or weekends.

If you have any neighbor that works construction, they might do that kind of work on the side. Our area has a website for local neighborhoods that lets neighbors offer their services (or sell items, warn of suspicious people, etc).

Even places that sell house trailers have a company that they contract with to do their porches; and will give out their names = those contractors are always looking for work on the side and would be willing to take on extra work.

Also, on Saturdays or Sundays in the newspaper they always have listings in the classifieds for people who do that kind of work.

If your old porch is in dangerous shape and the cost of repairing it is too high for a person's funds, there are numerous government agencies and churches all over the country that do that kind of work for free; and usually supply the materials as well.

I am actually having my front porch done too = June 21-25th; so just got through what you are now = trying to find someone to do the work. Now if I can just find someone to build a retaining wall! I need a Mirocu for that!












A certain crow gets plenty of exercise working around his property, lol.

I live in a rural municipality and don't speak Swedish so actually finding someone is on the shoulders of my bf. He called one place today, they can't do it til August. He's trying to see if someone he goes to dialysis with's son knows anyone(he's a painter, paints houses) that we can call. Next up is to try the phone book. I don't think there's any groups like that. House trailers aren't very popular here that I've seen(and I live in the type of place you'd find house trailers). Everything here is so formal.

I also don't want Joe Random doing it... I want someone that's done this kind of work before and can have it done in a professional manner. If I wanted Joe Random doing it, I'd do it myself, blind bat and all. Seriously, left eye doesn't work, no depth perception, really poor vision left over... and bf's on dialysis, doesn't have the energy to do much at all, much less a project like this.

We're looking at a deck extending halfway across the front of the house. House isn't that big. So probably a good 15 feet wide(4.5m) tops. Probably little bit less.

I actually didn't see where you lived till after I sent that; but those answers probably only covered living in the U.S.; I'm sorry about that. I hope you find someone soon, it is always frustrating to me when I want something done around the house and can't get it done timely enough = constantly seeing the place where the porch would be and visualizing it in your mind how you want it done = irking to have to wait to see it happen.

Good luck with it!

Its all good. In the States I'd just have Dad do it lol. He's a carpenter. Part of why I'd do it myself if I could see worth a crab.

What if you could see worth a lobster?

So 'Rocu, you gonna go build that porch for Saki or not?

Er, well.... If she doesn't mind that from time to time I come over and do improvements I should have done from the beginning then I might think about it

Lol.

Seriously though... lol.

This afternoon I uploaded a brief Transport Fever "ride-along" video to YouTube. No vocal commentary or music.

I debated posting it. Rendered picture quality was just barely acceptable before the upload. YouTube's processing made it unacceptably worse. I kept it online a couple of hours, then deleted it. Might try again, but don't know what I can do differently. I'm using the same settings as I did for my two Mashinky videos, and those are fine.

Weird. I notice upload quality is garbage on a lot of my videos too despite looking fine otherwise.

I bit the bullet, re-shot my Transport Fever Ride-Along at 60 rather than 30fps, and opted for a higher bit rate. Also rendered it with a higher quality format in my video editor. The result wasn't stellar, but a definite improvement over the original rendered video, easily good enough for viewing. Uploaded it to YouTube. Again, the final viewable result is sub-par. It's akin to looking through some sort of gauze filter in my opinion, especially when the train is in motion, as it almost always is. I find it curious that the several times I viewed it on YouTube I was defaulted to 720p, though 1080p is an available option. Right-clicking the video and selecting "info for nerds" shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. (It should go without saying that my uploaded original is 1080p.)

For the brave at heart, here it is, video warts and all. I'm curious to hear your takes on video quality, and if you too default to 720p:

Transport Fever Ride-Along - Oil Refinery Rail Hub to Dunwich and Back Again

To Dunwich? The Horror!

It is cool that there are cars which stop at the intersections to let your train through.

I watched it at 1080p, and it seemed fine to me.