My Computer Devices

Going from the smallest to the largest, these are the computer devices I use.

First is my iPhone SE, which I always have with me. Since it works with my hearing aids, I use it for all audio.

For reading away from home, I have adopted a Nook. No sense in spending big bucks for a large smartphone.    It is less bulky than a Kindle Fire 7 and is not limited by Amazon's unique restrictions.

I will be switching also to a new Walmart 8" tablet for the same reasons.

Next is the iPad, which outperforms everything else at my easy chair.

A Chromebook is then my desk machine.

I avoid Windows wherever possible due to the annoyances of constant upgrades.    However, an old Windows PC does the heavy lifting on a large TV screen.

In all, I spent little for any of these devices, the iPad most at $250.

With them, I have at hand anywhere: my email (news), library, music, YouTube, browsing, and even control of my Roku TV.

Streaming to iPads and iPhones

 In spite of my enthusiasm for the iPad and iPhone, there is a problem in that you cannot stream to these devices from Apple’s iCloud.

That is just plain unsatisfactory.

You need a place where you can safely keep files and also stream them.    Ideally you also need a backup place for them away from internet.

Using Amazon music, streaming is fine, but it is complicated to download and keep a backup.

On the other hand, Google offers such a cloud space.

There is also another nice choice.      It turns out that Microsoft's OneDrive can also be used for the purpose.     

On OneDrive you establish a folder called Music, and simply upload to it.      

So both Google and Microsoft offer least cost cloud storage options.

A Cure for Copper Deficiency

 This posting is a little outside the mission of this website, but I believe it is important.

I accidentally came across a cure for copper deficiency, a very serious condition with which I was diagnosed two years ago.

A number of neurologists had failed to identify the condition until a dedicated PennMedicine physician finally nailed it.

After working for an hour to identify all the symptoms, this neurologist asked me to take a short walk with him in the hallway.      He expressed surprise that I had literally no balance whatever, one of the main symptoms. I said tell me about it.

He then asked me to go up and get a blood test immediately.    I asked him what he thought the condition was. He said he was not telling until he saw the result.

The blood test for copper is rarely given to anyone simply because the condition is rare among the general population, in spite of the fact that it may affect as much as 20% of the senior population.

Copper deficiency not only results in loss of balance and loss of muscle, but is also associated with eventual Alzheimer's.     (Nobody knows if it is a major contributor to Alzheimer's because the test is rarely given.)

The condition had been treated experimentally at Mayo Clinic and the University of Pittsburgh with infusion into the bloodstream.   Unfortunately I could not find a doctor willing to do infusion. It can be dangerous.

I resorted to copper supplement pills which never worked over a period of 2 years as symptoms became worse..

Then a strange thing happened.

I happen to love cashews, and spying large can of them in Costco led me to try a can.    I went overboard and finished them off in a few days, after which I coincidentally had my regular copper blood test.

My copper had moved up almost toward the edge of normal.

I don't have a regular doctor, but my nurse practitioner suggested that I explore copper rich sesame seeds.

I bought a $24 blender, two bags of sesame seeds, and started making sesame milkshakes with a quarter of a cup to 1/2 a cup of seeds per day, using almond or cashew milk, plus a little chocolate to make it tasty.    I refrigerate for a day before using.

In 10 weeks my blood test for copper was middle of normal.

My nurse practitioner then sent me out to restore muscles with physical therapy, starting with gradually increasing weights on a mat, and eventually moving on to a variety of exercise machines, mainly to strengthen the weakened core muscles.

I think we had high hopes, but very limited expectations.

However, the machines became easier and easier for me as I increased the weights,  as can be done methodically with exercise machines as opposed to other more limited physical therapy.     Pain subsided.

I am cured of copper deficiency and gaining strength.