MickinMD

The late Steve Wozniak said that spell-check software caused him to take longer to type documents because of unnecessary corrections. Now AI's getting into even more stuff where it's not needed. I keep track of when I planted seeds in my micro greenhouse and when they sprout. Today I also entered a note to remind myself, next year, when I removed one of three grow lights above my tomatoes to slow growth. Suddenly, lines appeared under middle, light, and tomatoes. They weren't spelled wrong. I clicked on "tomatoes" and the new AI stuff on the free WPS Writer told me I should have typed "the" in front of tomatoes. And there are 31 AI suggestions for the page! Another thing to slow me down!

I mentioned here, a couple weeks back, that I bought GE Aerospace (GE) after GE split up into a few different companies, after reading the first major, free-from-broker, reports that focused on GE Aerospace's record alone for the past decade, those of CFRA (formerly S&P Quality IQ Reports) and Morningstar, which called Aerospace the "crown jewel" of the old GE. I bought it right as the stock market began to dive in April. But, I did my homework for long-term investing and, according to Barrons and Yahoo: GE Stock Rose When the Stock Market Fell. Here’s Why GE Aerospace (GE) stock has been just fine during the recent market slide. It could be the strength of management or the outlook for commercial aerospace. Or it could just be Wall Street. Fine is an understatement. Coming into Thursday trading, GE Aero stock has been the best stock in the entire S&P 500 for April, according to Bloomberg, up about 11% month to date. The index was down about 4%... The updated target prices for GE Areo have been better than expected ... updated price targets range from about $150 to $190 and are averaging out to about $172, according to FactSet.

My right hand is still a little sore from the fall I had on Sunday. Everything's healing quickly, so I don't want to take a chance of aggravating something that should be fine at some point next week and then I'll so some shoveling and tilling the garden where tomatoes go in on May 8th and the peppers, cucumbers, and eggplants a week or two later. So I'm going to do some yardwork, but mostly just mowing and light weeding. I think my sister's crazy to ask me to grow cucumbers in my micro-greenhouse instead of waiting a month and putting them in directly in the outside soil, but since I had room to do it, I decided to try it and see if it gives us a head start. My Mini-me Cucumbers began to sprout today, 3 days after planting the seeds, but no Lemon Cukes yet. My sister's Sumter Cukes also began sprouting.

I was picked before I got the colonoscopy last year, so they didn't look over the results and then pick me. The one I got over 10 years previously had no polyps and last year's had a few, normal, "precancerous polyps" that were not cancerous. I think they do a lot of such corporate research there because it's done in a separate office that's apparently open 5-days/week that's behind the larger center where they do the colonoscopies. I got a call yesterday from a phone rep who walked me through going online and filling out the consent form ahead of time. She said she was in Louisiana. I think the actual testing is done by a 3rd-party company that Hoffman La Roche subcontracts. In any case, there must be thousands of people nationwide that are doing the testing like I'm doing.

Yes, it's a corporate study. Hoffman La Roche Pharmaceuticals has some kind of association with "Woodholme Gastroenterology" where my family doctor sends me for colonoscopies. They're looking at the actual colonoscopies done by Woodholme for selected patients, then doing the blood tests to see if they can develop a blood-test-only replacement for colonoscopies that detects all the stuff the actual colonoscopies detected.

I rarely eat Burger King food, but for some reason, frequently popping up in my head is: Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Special orders don't upset us.

Looks so good!

I had the same debate with my cousin, who prefers fresh frozen beans. For better or worse, a lifetime of canned green beans has led to me liking the taste better than otherwise.

The beans seem identical. I'm not going to dry the beans since the study proceeds as I use the beans for cooking, not discarding. The amount of water that remains on the beans should be consistent and any small errors will average out with multiple measurements.

Intrigued by a claim on Quora or Reddit that Aldi's 14.5 oz Green Beans were watered down, I decided to measure the three brands of Cut Green Beans I usually get: Del Monte from Costco, Great Value from Walmart, and Happy Harvest from Aldi. I cut open the can's lid, use it to drain the water from the can, then weigh the slightly wet green beans. As you can see, Del Monte is ripping us off! My sister said she's also had problems with too many hard stems in Del Monte green beans. Here are the results so far: Name, Price, Drained weight in oz, 14.5 oz. can of Cut Green Beans Walmart Great Value ($0.64) 9.42, 7.83, 8.40, 8.68 AVG: 8.58 oz. Aldi Happy Harvest ($0.63) 8.11, 8.54 AVG: 8.33 oz. Del Monte ($1.18 to $1.50) 7.05, 7.87, 7.62, 7.80, 7.69 AVG: 7.61 oz This 63 cent can of Aldi's Happy Harvest Cut Green Beans has more beans than any of the 5 Del Monte cans I've used:

When I got my colonoscopy in 2023, I was selected by Hoffman La Roche pharmaceuticals to be in a study it is doing while working with my local colonoscopy center. They want to see how close they can come to actual colonoscopy diagnoses by blood tests alone and will compare my actual 2023 colonoscopy to a series of blood tests. They said they'd pay me $200 per annual blood test for four years and I said "Sure!" So I got my $200 last year and I'll get another $200 when they take a few small vials of blood today. And I don't even have to fast before the test!

I've had some foreign immigrant teenagers who were in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes while taking Chemistry and Physics with me. One came from a small town in Argentina with a funny name. When I asked her why anyone would give a town that name, she asked, "Who would name a state Mary land?

They probably won't kill you but, if they're like the old, past-best-by-date, packaged foods I should have thrown away but ate this Spring, they might clean you out as good as a colonoscopy prep solution!

Sorry for this sad turn in your road of life. When I've been in emotionally trying situations, it helped so much to have a group of helpful friends and relatives and for me to be willing to open up to them as you are doing here. Make sure to stay in touch with your personal support group, including your sons and mother.

I don't have a sleep routine, but studies say we should. I often fall asleep in my recliner around 11 pm - midnight and wake up around 6-7 am. If I feel tired, I climb into bed and fall asleep - no reading, TV, etc.