Tonics? They're much more than an old wives' tale or a historic folk remedy. Tonics are liquids made of good things that are good for you. Tonic recipes have been around for years, centuries even. And while modern health care providers can scoff at the value of tonics, there are many people out there who swear by them.
Here's some scoop for you, Dear Reader, on tonics:
1. Tonic Tea Recipe -- just an overall, good for you blend made up of good things like licorice, ginger, and sarsaparilla.
2,, New York psychiatrist (and Lyme disease sufferer) and her husband, a psychopharmacologist at Columbia University, tell Mother Earth News all about a tonic made from a Russian herb that solved all her problems (which included serious things like severe fatigue, painful joints, and impaired mental function). She did take the tonic over a three month span, but it worked. And other stuff had not.
3. After telling this great story about the Russian herb, Michael Castleman reports on six great tonics that help in various ways -- though he does not give recipes.
4. Recipes, though, are at the ready over at HomeMadeRemedies.com. They've got a long list of tonic recipes, lots of which sound like they will taste great.
Me? I'm going to investigate these tonics -- because I am so very happy with my Apple Cider Vinegar tonic and how it's benefited me. Love it, love it. Because of this experience, I'm sold on tonics for good health.
March 29, 2010
March 28, 2010
Silence - The Value and Power of Turning the Noise Off
From TV to movies to games to music, much less conversation, it's possible to spend all your waking hours with some type of stuff steadily going into your ears and into your mind for analysis and storage. That's before the other stuff: the traffic sounds, construction noise, dogs barking outside, ... you know, the stuff you aren't controlling yourself.
Which means that when you turn everything OFF and the only thing you're hearing is the whirr of the car motor, or the breeze through the branches of a tree, it can be overwhelming. All that internal jumble is still bouncing around inside your head at first, like bees buzzing around. It can be uncomfortable.
Just wait. In a bit, this will subside and after you incorporate some silence into your life, that uncomfortable feeling will go away. And with it, you'll gain an internal harmony that you'll be glad to discover. It's relaxing, even joyful, to experience silence in this noisy life.
And, it's a lot easier to hear that still, small voice without all that other stuff competing for your attention.
'This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength ..., " ' Isaiah 30:15-18 NIV
"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose."
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
- William Penn
Image: A mountain stream on Raspberry Island, Alaska. Wikimedia Common, public domain.
March 27, 2010
Clear Wireless 4G Internet Service - Is It Any Good? Here's What I Found Out
A new internet service provider is making quite a splash here in San Antonio. Its green and white signs are everywhere -- they even have green and whtie "Clear" flags attached to cars driving around town.
And it sounds so great. You're free to connect to the internet all over the place, you're not tied down to any one spot. Plus, it's cheaper than your current ISP. Wow. And, wait! There's more! It's faster than your usual WiFi. It's 4G, in some places, it's 6G. Broadband speeds, anywhere and everywhere. Always available, faster, and cheaper.
That sure sounds good. Except I can't find anyone here in town who's actually USING this service, even if little Clear stores are opening up on every corner. So, I went surfing around on the web to get the scoop.
First, I learned that it's a big deal. This company has plans to cover the country with its little stores, and San Antonio is far from the first city to get inundated with these green and white signs and stores. In Texas, it's already in Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Waco, and other places.
Here are some of the review that I found, from various parts of the country where Clear 4g Wimax has been in business longer than here in the Alamo City:
1. Sarah Savage at Associated Content wrote in August 2009 that it was great for being able to pull out a netbook and write anywhere you wanted but there were drawbacks -- and recommended that if you're using the web mostly at home, it's not worth the purchase. Also, some drop-off issues if the computer was idle for a couple of hours (no problem just signing in, again, tho). Not sure what city we're talking about here, either.
2. Yelp.com has 16 reviews for Clear WiMax Internet coming from Atlanta users. Together, they're giving the service 3.5 stars out of 5. Some comments include (1) lots of folk experience outages (2) and slow, slow service - not nearly the swift service that is touted by Clear. There are some here that love this service, and some here that absolutely hate it.
3. Yelp.com has 30+ reviews for Portland's Clear WiMax Internet. Yelp looks to have closed this forum sometime last year, but there's still lots of info here to consider. And, there are lots of opinions here. Again, some love and some hate. Outages and slow speeds are discussed quite a bit. Those trying to download big documents or watch videos seem to be very dissatistfied with the service.
4. Nick Mokey at DigitalTrends.com took Clear for a spin in Portland one day last July and bottom line, he liked it. It wasn't perfect, but for some, Mr. Mokey opined that Clear would be just fine.
5. Nathan Roach in San Antonio gives it a thumbs up. I know Nathan Roach, and respect his opinion on all things Techno, so imagine my surprise when my surfing stumbled upon a review he'd written about trying out Clear -- here in my own hometown. Perfect. And, what does Nathan say? His opinion is the same as Nick Mokey (see above, I'd just read Mokey's review when I found Nathan's so this was real deja vu) -- and he gives lots of legal advice regarding the contracts and the service that's provided. The reps lied to Nathan, I don't like that -- and there's a 2 year contract involved.
What am I going to do? I think I'll wait on Clear. When I take my netbook to the B&N or local Starbucks, I'm happy enough -- and Clear's sounding too problematic to me.
And it sounds so great. You're free to connect to the internet all over the place, you're not tied down to any one spot. Plus, it's cheaper than your current ISP. Wow. And, wait! There's more! It's faster than your usual WiFi. It's 4G, in some places, it's 6G. Broadband speeds, anywhere and everywhere. Always available, faster, and cheaper.
That sure sounds good. Except I can't find anyone here in town who's actually USING this service, even if little Clear stores are opening up on every corner. So, I went surfing around on the web to get the scoop.
First, I learned that it's a big deal. This company has plans to cover the country with its little stores, and San Antonio is far from the first city to get inundated with these green and white signs and stores. In Texas, it's already in Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Waco, and other places.
Here are some of the review that I found, from various parts of the country where Clear 4g Wimax has been in business longer than here in the Alamo City:
1. Sarah Savage at Associated Content wrote in August 2009 that it was great for being able to pull out a netbook and write anywhere you wanted but there were drawbacks -- and recommended that if you're using the web mostly at home, it's not worth the purchase. Also, some drop-off issues if the computer was idle for a couple of hours (no problem just signing in, again, tho). Not sure what city we're talking about here, either.
2. Yelp.com has 16 reviews for Clear WiMax Internet coming from Atlanta users. Together, they're giving the service 3.5 stars out of 5. Some comments include (1) lots of folk experience outages (2) and slow, slow service - not nearly the swift service that is touted by Clear. There are some here that love this service, and some here that absolutely hate it.
3. Yelp.com has 30+ reviews for Portland's Clear WiMax Internet. Yelp looks to have closed this forum sometime last year, but there's still lots of info here to consider. And, there are lots of opinions here. Again, some love and some hate. Outages and slow speeds are discussed quite a bit. Those trying to download big documents or watch videos seem to be very dissatistfied with the service.
4. Nick Mokey at DigitalTrends.com took Clear for a spin in Portland one day last July and bottom line, he liked it. It wasn't perfect, but for some, Mr. Mokey opined that Clear would be just fine.
5. Nathan Roach in San Antonio gives it a thumbs up. I know Nathan Roach, and respect his opinion on all things Techno, so imagine my surprise when my surfing stumbled upon a review he'd written about trying out Clear -- here in my own hometown. Perfect. And, what does Nathan say? His opinion is the same as Nick Mokey (see above, I'd just read Mokey's review when I found Nathan's so this was real deja vu) -- and he gives lots of legal advice regarding the contracts and the service that's provided. The reps lied to Nathan, I don't like that -- and there's a 2 year contract involved.
What am I going to do? I think I'll wait on Clear. When I take my netbook to the B&N or local Starbucks, I'm happy enough -- and Clear's sounding too problematic to me.
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