Sunday, June 21, 2009 - Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all you Fathers
Some clouds and cool enough to have a small fire this morning. I expect an afternoon thunderstorm, as predicted by NWS, as I have had one each afternoon or early evening this past week.
I spent the entire day writing and doing a small amount of research, as I didn’t want to be slowed to a snails crawl on the Internet. I’ll finish my letter to the Hughes CEO, with copies to others, tomorrow and mail it when I go to town on Tuesday. I still have research to do, but it appears as I expected, Hughes has over sold the ability to provide service with their current satellites and now we all pay for it. Several of the sites lamenting this problem, simply say to change service, but that isn’t possible for me, unless I hear from Dish Network about providing me with the service. It would be my only other provider besides Hughes.
I really hate that the government is in everyone’s business and now even going to produce cars, but I think someone needs to regulate the service providers for the Internet. They do it for satellite television, so why not the Internet too. There should be standards set and upheld for what service they provide, the speeds and bandwidths, and their contracts. After I read through the Hughes Terms Of Service agreement for the fourth time, there isn’t one single word or section that protects my rights as a paying using, but page after page protecting their rights and telling you what they will do to you if you don’t follow their rules and regulations, which they change at their whim and don’t even bother to notify you.
Enough of that for now, and I wish I could tell you about all of my wonderful accomplishments today, but as I said, I just wrote and did a little research, that’s it, nothing more.
It is now a little past 7 PM, and a peal of thunder has just rolled through and made the cabin vibrate. The sky has turned ominous and I expect rain to come down soon. I am ready to build another fire, take a shower, eat dinner and then veg out in front of the television.

Saturday, June 20, 2009 -
It rained off and on most of the night, and woke me early this morning as it increased. I have been enjoying the morning in front of a nice fire, watching the chipmunks play and get the hidden peanuts and sunflower seeds. Zack has been snoozing in front of the fire all morning, not even asking to go out and play.
An attempt on my life was made again last night, but I didn’t realize it until the early morning hours. It happens once or twice, sometimes even three times a year. The effects are always the same as the poison enters my system and flows through my body. My fight with this invisible foe has continued for several years and you might think that I would be ever vigilant, but after I recover from my near death experience, some time goes by and I forget to watch for the signs. I have vowed to be more careful in the future, and have gone through and thrown out all of the suspect items in my refrigerator.
I am, of course, talking about food poisoning. I have a tendency to keep things longer than I should, and if it isn’t discolored, or has the aroma of garbage, I eat it. I checked the expiration dates and both the salad dressing and the green salad olives said they were still good, yet I believe that they were the cause of my stomach violently telling me that something was wrong. At first, I thought it was the new medication I am on (Hydrochlorot 25 mg), as I almost passed out from dizziness when I got up to go to bed last night. I remembered reading that another possible side affect was nausea, so I chalked it up to the meds. When I carefully made my way to the bathroom at three O’clock in the morning, it dawned on me that it could be a mild case of food poisoning, and not the medication. I survived the night and have no ill affects this morning, but still, I have promised my self to be more diligent in my choices of food from the refrigerator.
Hughes has slowed my service down again this morning, saying I have exceeded their FAP. On Monday, I will be making some telephone calls and sending a letter to the CEO. I am spending some research time today to find out exactly who controls the Fair Access Policy of the internet, or is it just some excuse the satellite providers dreamed up to cram more user on less equipment. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about FAP. “Fair Access Policy or Fair Use Policy is a ISP-promoted term for a bandwidth cap. It may limit a user to a daily or monthly cap and once that cap is reached it may result in slowing, a complete cut-off, or overage fees.
Large uses of bandwidth, such as P2P and streaming video, and have led to increased bandwidth usage. In an effort to increase profit many ISPs instituted complicated bandwidth schemes limiting users from the bandwidths they were advertised.
Broadband has long been a market based on overselling. As video services have become widespread, users have started using the bandwidth they were sold, threatening and changing consumer ISP's business models.”
Based upon that information, I’d say Hughes is setting and changing the bandwidth cap to suit their needs. I have started my research, slow as it is, and will be compiling my information. I will then write my letters and complain to those that might have the power to do something about it.
Other than switching between being too warm with a fire after the sun came out, to being too cold without the fire after the sun disappeared, I have played with Zack, done some writing and a little research. I am not going to take a shower and have something to eat . . . other than leftovers.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 -
It is partly cloudy with the chance of a thundershower this morning, and after my morning coffee, I hope the weather will hold long enough to install the new batteries.
Just as I was changing into my work clothes to go outside, it poured rain and the wind started blowing at about 12 mph. I decided I would wait for the rain to pass before I would try to tackle the batteries. By two O’clock, the rain had stopped but the wind hadn’t. I put on a sweatshirt and went out to get the job done.
First, I needed to disconnect all of the old batteries and remove them from the battery box. My doctor told me that I shouldn’t be doing any thing that might pull the stitches, but I told her I would have to, but I’d be careful. I managed to slide each of the 135-pound batteries off the edge of the battery box, controlling their drop to the ground. Once they were all removed, I focused on removing the old foam insulation and putting in the new blue board insulation. Blue board, which can also be pink in color depending on where you purchase it, has almost three times the protection that regular foam or fiberglass insulation has. I want to make sure that these batteries are well protected from the cold during winter.
After replacing the insulation in the walls, I put down two layers of blue board on the floor. Not only for added protection, but also to raise the new lower profile batteries, up to my cable height. After removing the shrink-wrap from the pallet, I found that each battery was in its own box. The boxes had no bottoms, so I could just lift each one off the battery. To my shock, the batteries had automotive posts and not the L-shaped connectors with holes to bolt the cables on. I looked at so many sites and read so much information when I researched the batteries that I thought I had specifically ordered the L-posts, but I guess not. Now I had no way to connect the cables and hook them up.
I would have to make a quick run to town for adapters, but it was already 3:50 PM. I knew that if I couldn’t make the follow me truck departure time, I’d end up getting into town too late to get the necessary parts. The only place that I knew would carry them was Northwest Battery as they are the ones that made up all of the cables for me originally. I figured they closed at 5 PM, so I would probably have to buy a less desirable type connector at Wal-Mart and adapt it to work.
Zack and I jumped into the Jeep and roared down the mountain, hoping to catch the follow me truck at the quarter past departure time, but we missed it by five minutes. We now had to sit and wait for 25 minutes, which would put us in town after 5 PM. I decided that I would find something in town that would work, and because the days are so long up here, I’d have time to get home and finish the job. I also needed to mail a box to my sister, which I had taken to town with me yesterday, but forgot to mail it. Too much was happening and when I got home . . . there it was, in the back seat.
I decided not to stress about any of it and just go with the flow, so sat and listened to the radio while we waited for the follow me truck. At 4:45, the truck appeared and we followed it out Marysville Road to the Lincoln Highway. The road work appears to be finished as they are putting the last of the guardrails up today, but my conversation with the follow me truck driver, Alicia, yesterday told me that they still have to put down a coat of chip and then seal it, which will cause them to repaint the lines before it is finished. All of Marysville will be glad it is over with . . . for now. I say for now because they are planning on paving past Marysville and up to the ski run in the near future. I would bet that they won’t be able to find the money to complete the job and it will remain as it is, but we’ll see.
I went into Helena and knew that the Post Office would be closed, as it was 5:15, so headed to the UPS Store, knowing they are open until 6 PM. I mailed the package to my sister and then hurried over to the Northwest Battery shop to see if by chance they were still open. Well, my luck held out and because he had a customer in the shop, he hadn’t locked up. I managed to get the battery post connectors and was on my way. I stopped in at Burger King for a quick dinner, knowing that by the time I got home and finished the job, it would be late.
Out of necessity, I ate while driving back to Marysville. I hate to do that more than talk on the phone and drive, but felt that it was about the only choice I would have to eat. We got back to the Marysville Road at 6:15 and the work crew had quit for the day, so we didn’t have to wait for the follow me truck.
Once back at the cabin, I was able to finish installing the batteries. The new batteries are 165 pounds each, but I was able to back the truck up to the battery box and then just slide each one off the tailgate and onto the battery box. After connecting all of the cables, I carefully threw the circuit breaker and went inside to read the inverter panel. Bad news, I had 36.5-volts for my 24-volt inverter. I shut it down and got the inverter manual to see the different configurations for batteries. Having switched from eight 6-volt batteries, to four 12-volt batteries, got me confused and I had connected them incorrectly. I redid the cables according to the manual and flipped the breaker again. Inside, the panel indicated that the inverter was working, with 25.8-volts coming in from the batteries, and 120-volts going out. The only problem was that I still didn’t have electricity. I read the trouble shooting section of the manual and rechecked absolutely every cable and connector to make sure they were tight and correct, but still no power.
After reading the trouble shooting section several times, and then looking at the diagrams in the manual, it showed a fuse or circuit breaker in the system, but I didn’t remember any, other than the breaker I installed when I first put the system in. Upon closer inspection, I found an obvious 30-amp pop out circuit breaker on the end of the inverter. Once I had reset that breaker, I had power. These are just a few of challenges that must be faced if one wishes to live the lifestyle I do.
It was now 8 O’clock and I hadn’t fed Zack his dinner yet. I played with him one last time and then prepared his dinner. I started a fire, took a shower, and fixed myself a drink before sitting down to relax and enjoy the fruit of my labor.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 -
Aside from a few high wispy clouds, the sky is a clear deep blue and the sun is shining brightly. NWS is still predicting the possibility of thundershowers, but I hope it stays clear and helps dry out the road a little.
I won’t be working the road today, as I have my doctor’s appointment in town, and trips to town usually end up taking all day. I didn’t get a tracking number for the delivery of my new batteries, but I am hoping they are in town for me to pick up. If not, I’ll call and get an ETA on them. I will also be calling Hughes and upgrading my account so they don’t continuously slow me down.
Here I am, two days later, just now getting back to this. The trip to town was close, but I made it to my doctor’s appointment with five minutes to spare. They took me right in and after the preliminary weight, temperature, blood pressure and updating medications, the doctor came in and we discussed Cat Scratch Disease. I was pleased to see that she actually knew what it was and pulled up all the information from the database on her laptop computer. After examining my foot and talking about the wound, she examined my lymph glands and we agreed that unless there were other complications, all symptoms should pass in the next month or so.
She prepped my arm to remove the spot and then gave me an injection to numb the area. The new young assistant that had taken my history had commented that it would be cool to watch the procedure, so I told my doctor, Jennifer, and she invited her in to observe and assist.
Jennifer draped the area and began cutting an almond shaped area around the spot, to insure she got all of the possible cancerous cells. As she got to the outer edges, it wasn’t numb and I could feel her cutting. It didn’t hurt, as the scalpel was very sharp, so I told her to just go ahead and finish it, which she did. When she removed the piece, she placed it in a medium to be sent to the lab. Three stitches later and it was all finished.
We discussed my blood pressure, which was down from the last visit, but not where she thinks it should be, so she increased the water pill dosage, telling me that I needed to have another blood draw when I came back to have the stitches removed, which is in 7 days. I am feeling some of the side affects of the new medication, but nothing serious, so she wants to keep tabs on my potassium levels. The last thing on my visit was to update my tetanus shot. I hadn’t had one since 1999 and she wants to make sure I have the booster. I don’t remember tetanus shots hurting so much, but it was by far worse than having the spot cut out of my arm.
Zack and I left the doctor’s office, heading to pick up my mail, but first I stopped at Taco Bell to relieve the hunger from fasting for the blood draw. As I pulled in to the drive through, my phone rang. I answered and it was the delivery person with my new batteries. He was at the UPS Store, where I get all of my mail, wanting to know what to do with 660 pounds of batteries. I told him I would be there in a minute and he could simply load them into the back of the truck.
Talk about luck and timing, I had planned on driving the Jeep to town today, but at the last minute decided to switch and take the truck. And then to have him at my mail pick up at the same time I was going there was good luck. I got my food order and drove to the UPS Store. He was waiting with the pallet of batteries on the lift gate of his truck. I simply backed up to his truck and he lowered them into the truck bed. I signed for them and then picked up my mail and we headed to Safeway to get a few items and have my new prescription filled.
Once I was done at Safeway, I filled the gas cans and we stopped at Home Depot for a new 6’ long digging bar. This is the third one I’ve bought since living here. The other two had been taken from the back of my truck the two different times it was stuck in the snow. I could have used it to help with the repair of the dozer tracks, so wanted to buy another to have available for the next time I need it.
From there, we headed for home and I had visions of exchanging the new batteries for the old ones, and actually having power without having to run the generator. By the time we waited for the follow me truck and got home, it was after 7 PM, threatening rain and had become cold and windy. I was tired so after playing with and feeding Zack, I decided to leave the task until tomorrow. I showered, built a fire and had a light dinner, before sitting down to watch television.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 -
It is overcast again this morning and NWS is predicting thundershowers for the afternoon. The wind has picked up and was blowing at a steady 9 or 10 mph, but then calmed down after noon. The ground is very muddy, after yesterday’s rain, so roadwork is out of the question.
The dirt around my place consist mainly of clay, so when it is wet, the mud sticks to anything and everything, making grading almost impossible. When I have attempted to work in it, I had to stop the dozer every 50 feet to clear the mud that stuck to the box blade. I spent more time clearing the mud than working the road, so now I wait until the dirt isn’t so wet.
I have spent this morning reading my emails and researching chipmunks. I have been enjoying their antics in and around my woodpile, so wanted to find out a little more about them. According to all of the sites I investigated, there are 25 different species, and with the exception of one Asian species, all live in North America. I discovered that their average life span is 7 years, which is longer than I would have guessed. But National Geographic’s site states that in the wild, they only live 2 to 3 years. Wikipedia states that they are omnivores and even eat bird eggs, while another site states that they also eat fledglings and small frogs.
They have had many different names through out history, but we know them as chipmunks. They have been called: chitmunk, chipmonk, chipmuck and chipminck. They have also been known as chip squirrels, striped squirrels, chippers, munks, timber tigers (I really like that one), and ground squirrels. I found out that the Eastern chipmunk is larger than the Western chipmunk and lighter in color, while the Asian chipmunk is the smallest of the species. All of them hibernate in the winter, but rather than put on fat and survive by sleeping the entire time, they wake and eat some of the stored food every couple of weeks. The Eastern chipmunks have two litters of 4 to 5, spring and late summer, while the western chipmunk only has one litter in the spring.
Chipmunk nests, or tunnel system, can be as long as 30 feet, and have many chambers. The sleeping chamber is usually filled with leaves, grass and even feathers, to make it comfortable, while the other chambers are used to store food and their waste. One site suggested that some chipmunks use bird’s nests as a home, but I doubt that happens around here, as they couldn’t be protected from the winter weather.
Of the 20+ species that comprise the Western chipmunk, I have the Least chipmunk at my cabin, although I would be hard pressed to tell you the differences from all the other species. Evidently, chipmunks make good pets if they are hand raised, but I certainly don’t need one while I have multiple families of them entertaining me right outside my window.
On another note, I did research on Cat Scratch Disease (CSD), which is just one of the zoonosis diseases that can be passed from animals to humans (Dogs can also carry the CSD and pass it to humans). I had just read an article in one of the magazines I get from the AKC and my vet; about CSD and it all of sudden dawned on me that it may account for the non-healing sore on the top of my foot. While Zack and I played at the Salton Sea, he stepped on the top of my bare foot, scratching it rather badly, to the point of bleeding. His claws and pads are sharp and my skin is thin, so it left a wound that scabbed over, which as it healed, itched. This occurred some four months ago and now the area of the wound has lost its scab, but still doesn’t look like it is healed. It has begun itching so badly that it will awaken me in the middle of the night.
After connecting the information in the CSD article to my symptoms, I realized they matched, so did additional online research on the matter and discovered that while CSD isn’t considered common, it does occur and there doesn’t seem to be a cure. If I have contracted a case of CSD, then it should run its course in six months and leave no after affect. There are case studies of it causing additional medical problems, but the possibility is slim. I will share the information I downloaded with my doctor, at tomorrow’s appointment, and see if she is even aware of CSD.
The sun has broken through the clouds and in the clear spots I can see beautiful Cumulus clouds rising to 30 or 40 thousand feet. Zack is out on the deck enjoying the sunshine and dreaming about chasing something. His feet are moving and he is woofing under his breath. He seems to be enjoying the chase, and it may be a reenactment of him chasing Jackrabbits at Salton Sea.
I am going to conclude my research on Healing Through Humor, as I have ordered and had three books sent to my friend Bruce in Wisconsin. His prognosis is only months, if not less, and I remembered reading about Dr. Norman Cousins healing himself through humor (his book is, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient). His resulting research, concluded by doctors and scientist, indicates that laughter releases chemicals that help manage pain and boosts the immune system. Most of my research concludes that indeed laughter can cure many human maladies.
Hughes has slowed down my download speed again, so I am going to quit for the day and after playing with Zack again, I’ll feed him and them myself. A nice shower and some relaxing television should finish off my day.

Monday, June 15, 2009 -
It is cooler this morning and the sky is full of rain filled clouds. I decided to start a small fire to take the chill off the sunroom and then started the generator so I could go online to work on my blogs and do some research.
NWS is predicting a 60% chance of thunderstorms today and by 11:45, the sky opened up and it rained hard for about 15 minutes, and then quit. The sky has that eerie glow of gray-green and the forest is dark green with freshly washed needles. I love a good storm as it washes and cleans everything, helping to keep the dust down and Mother Nature at her best.
Like other areas in the north, I have suffered the devastation of the Bark Beetle, which has moved down from Canada, killing off fir trees by the thousands. It is nature’s way of thinning out the weak trees as the beetles don’t attack healthy ones, but the next natural step is a forest fire to clear out the dead debris. Living in the middle of an almost million acre national forest is wonderful, until you realize that it can all be taken away in a moment. I know that fires can affect everyone and people lose their homes to it on a regular basis, but homes can be rebuilt, forests take years and years to grow to their beauty.
The day passed with two more downpours, depositing almost half an inch of water, but by late afternoon, the clouds started to break up and the some sunshine started to shine through. It never did warm up, but I did have to finally let the fire die down and open the sliding doors for some fresh air.
After doing research most of the day, and writing, I finally stopped at 7:30 PM, took a shower, fixed myself some dinner and then relaxed in front of the television.

Sunday, June 14, 2009 - New Web Site - Notes From The Cabin
It looks pretty threatening outside and NWS is indicating a 50% chance of a thunderstorm today, so I have decided that if I did do any road work, and it rains, then I’d probably be back to square one, so I’ll work indoors today.
It wasn’t cold enough to build a fire, and when the sun did shine through, it made the sunroom hot enough to open the sliding doors. I have the backup generator running on the economy mode so I can work online, and have spent the morning finishing all the postings to the travel log web site, adding photos as necessary, and then set up a new daily blog web site at http://mountainmanalbert.blogspot.com/
I will attempt to maintain this blog site and keep it current as I write my daily logs. I’ll keep the travel web site for when I take trips, and use Notes From The Cabin to keep readers updated on my daily activities and adventures around my cabin.
After spending ALL DAY on updating the travel site and then setting up the new blog site, I have a new admiration for those people, like my friend Kathy that authors her web site, Legends of America, and respect how much time it takes to operate a full-time site. I just hope I can keep up with these writings and still work on my books, and get things done around the cabin.
The afternoon did produce a little rain, but more thunder than storm. Zack enjoys being able to go outside and play, even in the rain, so we did more than usual today. I continued working on the blog until almost 9 O’clock before quitting for the day. I had some dinner, showered, watched some television and then went to bed at about 11:30.