Applewood Annie, bless your heart for remembering me. I'm still around, though since I lost my DH last summer my time for checking in on GW has not been the same. Used to be that I popped in every single day - sometimes more than once, but I've no time for that any more, and not so much time for my gardens either I'm sad to say. I've tried to make a promise to myself to photograph the gardens more this year, even if only to help me some day remember the beauty I created around a home I no longer can view as being the place I'll stay the rest of my life, sigh. Sorry to hear about your health problems. What a terrible time you have had! I hope you have some beautiful roses anyway this year - and better days ahead. It's fun to see so many people pop in, but sad when I see the names of some very wonderful people I met here over the last 12 years and now so many of them are lost to us all. That's the nature of this way of relating to people. We only see a small window on someone's life and they can close it and turn their backs at any time, leaving us in the dark as to what happened. That's the trouble; never having the end of the stories...

Wayne, here's the headline...Crystal power Palmtop Nuclear Fusion Device Invented By Michael Schirber LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 27 April 2005 01:00 pm ET The nuclear reaction that powers the Sun has been reproduced in a pocket-sized device, scientists announced today. Researchers have for years tried to harness nuclear fusion to power the world. But its cousin, nuclear fission -- the breaking apart of atoms -- is the only method so far commercially viable. The latest invention is not in the same league as efforts to build complex commercial reactors. The new device creates a relatively small number of reactions, and requires more energy to operate than it produces. The Real Deal (AP) - Previous claims of tabletop fusion have been met with skepticism and even derision by physicists. In one of the most notable cases, Dr. B. Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of Southampton University in England shocked the world in 1989 when they announced that they had achieved so-called cold fusion at room temperature. Their work was discredited after repeated attempts to reproduce it failed. Fusion experts noted that the new UCLA experiment is credible because, unlike the 1989 work, it did not violate basic principles of physics. "This doesn't have any controversy in it because they're using a tried and true method,'' said David Ruzic, professor of nuclear and plasma engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "There's no mystery in terms of the physics.'' -- Associated Press But the configuration is so small and simple that its creators think it may inspire unforeseen applications. "I certainly find it interesting that you can heat a cubic centimeter crystal in your hand, then plunge it in cold water and it will cause nuclear fusion," Seth Putterman from the University of California Los Angeles told LiveScience. Putterman's lay description greatly oversimplifies how the compact apparatus works. Specifically, Putterman and collaborators heat a pyroelectric crystal, lithium tantalite, from minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit to plus 45 in a matter of minutes. This generates an electrical charge -- 100,000 volts -- across the tiny crystal, which is housed in a chamber filled with deuterium gas, a heavy form of hydrogen. The high voltage is focused onto a needle-thin tip, which strips electrons from nearby deuterium nuclei and then accelerates them at a solid target containing deuterium. When two deuterium nuclei collide together at high speed, they fuse to form helium. The Sun also fuses atoms in thermonuclear reactions that create light and heat. The byproduct of the newly discovered lab reaction is a particle called the neutron. The scientists detect about 1,000 neutrons per second. Because neutrons are so penetrating, Putterman said that a hand-held neutron source might one-day be used to do geologic surveys or to look into cargo containers for nuclear devices. "Current neutron generators are extremely cumbersome," Putterman said. "They are about as big as a dentists X-ray machine, so you canÂt carry them into the field." Pyroelectric crystals could also provide a beam of ions for use as a microthruster in a miniature spacecraft. The research is described in the April 28 issue of the journal Nature.

When my sister was told she had 6 months to live, we both read "Embraced by the Light", it is beautiful. Maddie - I heard that "Fast Food Nation" is a great read. Good luck with the interview, change your thinking to positive, even if it is her, maybe she has changed - 7 years can be a lifetime ago for some people. (Besh I just read your post to Maddie - great minds think alike LOL) It's official, I know every Cable technician by first name. We have such a problem with our service and they are stumped by what it could be, everything checks out. The supervisor called me this morning, I have had 6 different cable boxes in 2 weeks. They were scheduled to come back Monday afternoon, but the supervisor called to say they are coming today, aside from that he is giving us a nice credit for our inconvenience, that I didn't even ask for. BJ - just in case I miss you HAVE A GREAT TIME IN HAWAII!!! Enjoy the sun and the surf, sounds like you have enough reading to keep you busy for the entire time. Hopefully this trip will snap DH out of whatever is bugging him. Jen - I have to concur, the girls are beauties - we are all so proud of them. Thanks for always thinking of us. I just got the book "You The Owner's Manual - An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger". It is well written, easy to read, cute graphics and has a lot of humor thrown in. One of the author's is Michael F. Roizen, MD - that is on Oprah, etc. with his Real Age test. If you have never taken one, I have a link below - it is fun, but gives you some tips on small changes to add years onto your life. DeeMarie - been to any good diner's lately? I am officially going on BJD's diet, (BJ daughters). I just need to boost my exercise regiment. I have been doing something every morning, and weights when I think of it during the day. I just realized I wasn't SS anymore and I can't even remember when it happened - so this just ain't workin for me anymore. DD#2 is off to Venezuela this evening for her old roommates wedding - I am a bit nervous, as she is traveling alone and arriving late at night - although the family said they arranged for transportation - I can't help being a mom.... Here is a link that might be useful: Find out your real age

I will need a math expert to sort out my hydro electric bill. From Dec. 9, 2015 BC Hydro is being almost totally used to supply heat to a rather old house, plus all the other perks we all get using clean hydro power. Little wood is being used, saving it for power outages. This winter has been mild. The first 33 days on hydro was total $370. Next 33 days was total $572. The former home gas heat was from a 1994 (96 plus) high efficiency natural gas furnace. So an expert would need to summarize how much hydro power was needed to blow natural gas heat from a Direct Vent Forced Air Furnace, and what hydro power was consumed to supply the rest of my standard electrical needs. You have to be math- kW h -smart to know hydro consumption, or you need to be smart to understand the Smart Meters. Remember, too, this HEF was directly polluting my private lagoon with created acidic water with a pH lower than 5. The Mallard ducks had stopped nesting in the lagoon. When HEFs at 98 efficiency rate were planned to be the wave of the future how are they adding to acidic water problems when no municipality requires them to have a neutralizer on them before discharging anywhere? Year 2016: If I never return to unclean HEF natural gas heat which are being "allowed to dump acidic water anywhere", and go to Solar panel heat, sunny most days, will I be saving? Will there be a Brownie-Badge for saving the environment, too? And will I get a rebate for any unused hydro if the solar system is not battery operated but is better tied into a Hydro grid? Solar Power is where the future should be. Any grant money should be applied for us all to install Solar panels tied into the hydro grids. Imagine every home in the USA and Canada installing Solar panels, under incentive Grants and giving credit back to the homes for unused power. That is Smart living.