Meijer cheese recalled

Meijer brand colby and colby jack cheese has been recalled. Contamination by listeria was suspected but there have been no known illnesses reported.

The product has deli packaging with  labels that begin with the UPCs 215927xxxxxx or 215938xxxxx.

Source
US Food Safety.

Canadian test: gluten free foods have high levels of glyphosate

The (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) tested 7600 foods for presence of Glyphosate and AMPA (a glyphosate metabolite). Some of the foods with the highest levels of this poison are: chickpeas, wheat, gluten free foods, lentils. 


Source
Tonu.org.

More DIY battery links

Looking for more fun to make your own batteries at home? Here are some more links.

DIY battery from Scitoys.com. Uses copper and zinc in an acid electrolyte.

India: spinach from Hyderabad contains pesticides

Spinach can be good for you, if it doesn't contain pesticides.

A survey by some research scholars of Jayashankar Agricultural University revealed this startling reality after testing the samples secured from Rythu bazaars in Mehdipatnam, Gudimalkapur and Shamshabad. The survey found that the leaf vegetable contains 11 types of pesticides, including five commonly used, like chlorpyrifos, triazophos, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and profenofos, Dr Narasimha Reddy, a scientist of Pesticide Action Networks India told The Hans India. He said the pesticides were found to have been sprinkled on the leaves of the vegetable to prolong its longevity post-harvest, after cutting.

Pesticides are in more foods than you think, which is why it's time to have a portable pesticide detector for consumers to check all food. Not all organic food is pesticide- or gmo-free.

Source
Freshplaza.

DIY aluminum air battery

This aluminum air battery is made from aluminum foil, and activated charcoal, with a paper towel between them soaked in an electrolyte.

Terms:

• Cathode: the negative terminal
• Anode: the positive terminal

To test the battery, follow the directions from the site. Then take a multimeter and put the negative (-, black) probe on the charcoal, and the positive end (+, red) on the aluminum foil.

1. How many volts does it produce? 
2. How many amps? 
3. What happens if you crush the charcoal into a powder? Do volts or amps increase? 

Source
Exploratorium.

DIY penny battery

This DIY penny battery needs some US pennies with a zinc core (after 1982) and some cardboard soaked in an electrolyte.

When making the cardboard pieces, make sure they do not touch any other cardboard pieces. This will cause a short and the battery will not work.

From Exploratorium.edu.

Scotts grass escapes test beds

A type of grass by the Scotts company has escaped test beds and is now in the wild of Oregon. The grass is Roundup resistant, and people have been trying to kill it for 10 years. Now Scotts is trying to have Oregonians foot the bill, and ignore its own responsibility in the debacle.

Source
GMO Inside. Jan 8, 2017.

Lantern receives free data 24/7

The Lantern device from Outernet receives data for free from their collection of L-band satellites.

• It is solar charged. Battery holds 4000mah.
• It receives 20mb per day. That's about 20 minutes of good quality audio, average quality video, or 40 minutes of mono audio.
• It does not send data to the internet, communication is receive only. 
• A DIY receiver kit is $100.  It comes with the CHIP single board computer. (This means it also requires a monitor, keyboard, mouse.)
• It saves data and becomes a wifi hotspot, so you can share data with others. 
• It currently receives content from offline Wikipedia files, and news stations like BBC, Medline, WHO and Al Jazeera. 
• It has a USB for output, an SD card slot.  
• You need to install an Oracle VM in order to update the hardware for Skylark.
• The CHIP computer uses the OS called rxOS. 

From Wikipedia:

The Outernet broadcast is broken into three categories: the Queue, Sponsored Content, and the Core Archive.^[5] Content in the Queue is decided via votes on Whiteboard as well as requests via the Outernet Facebook page. Outernet plans to expand the avenues through which it is able to receive requests for content. Anyone can view what is being broadcast on Outernet at any time.

The pieces
DIY home kit. $99us with USB power pack.

But there are still questions.

1. How do we select which data we want to receive? 
2. How can I request a specific file, ebook, or video? Use their Whiteboard, as a way to suggest content.Or their Filecast Center.
3. Is the hotspot secured with a password that I can give to other people?  
4. For the hotspot, is there user-level security where some people can access only one or two folders? 
5. Can it connect to a Windows PC via wifi or USB port? Or do I need a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor? 
6. How can I remove and manage content on my own Lantern hotspot? 
7. Can I name the hotspot? Does it need it's own IP address? How do I get an IP address?  
8. Can I leave it out in the rain? What about the snow?  A plastic enclosure is due soon.
9. The DIY weather kit is not weather-proof. Are there any cases for the receiver?  
10. How do we point the receiver to make sure we get the strongest signal?
11. It uses a battery pack for power, but can it use 5vdc connected to mains power?

Future features
We currently envision a system that allows content-requests through SMS, phone calls, feature phone apps, and the website. Source.

Sources and more info

• Their Indiegogo site.
• The Outernet site.  Outernet forums here.
• Outernet Facebook page.
• Outernet FAQ.

Foods help you destress

People can get stress from a variety of sources, including work, relationships, neighbors, family, and more. Read this article to find out why these foods help the body deal with stress. Dark leafy greens and Chia seeds have magnesium which is important.


Source
Foodrevolution.org.

DIY AA battery delivers 1.6vdc!

Yes I'm Jonesing for DIY batteries! There will be several articles on different types of DIY batteries.

This is a neat DIY project even kids can do. The voltage is so low it will hurt no one.

This delivers 1.6vdc. It probably costs more than batteries at the Dollar Tree, but it will work in a pinch. All you need is galvanized washers (which provides the zinc layer) and copper washes (for the copper layer), and cardboard soaked in vinegar or another acidic solution, or salt water.

An AA battery has a diameter of .53" (14mm) and a length of 1.95" (49.7mm) including the top button. If fitting this into a device is important, try to get 13mm washers (outside diameter) so you will room for the shrink wrap. A US penny can be used but it's too wide at 18.9mm.

Modern US pennies since about 1984 have a zinc inside, and thin copper layer outside. So you can sand off one side of the penny to expose the zinc, and the other side will be copper.


Some questions to ask when making this:

1. Does the voltage or amps produced depend on the surface area of the washers? 
2. What happens to the volts or amps if you change the electrolytes? 

Copper washers.

1. Copper washers, 10x, from Hong Kong.
2. Assorted copper washers various sizes, 200 pcs. 
3. Copper washers, 6mm inside diam, 10mm outside diam, 1mm thick. 10 pcs.
4. Copper washers, 14mm outside diam, 10pcs.  
5. Copper washers, 13mm outside diam, 10pcs.

Zinc washers. (Galvanized washers means they are coated with zinc to resist rust.)
In various metric sizes.

Misc

1. Washer dimensions.
2. More metric washer dimensions (PDF).
3. M6 washers have an OUTSIDE diameter of 11.5-16mm.
4. M7 washers have outside diameter of 13.5mm.