Tingting

He's also good at answering his WhatsApp. It may take a day or two, but he always answers.

If no one knows, get a pic of the berries and leaves and post them on "whatisthisplant" on reddit. I'm amazed at the botanical knowledge on that subreddit.

Just as an aside, you can contact the office of Chapala Haciendas and ask if they could have someone check on him, but it's not something that is normally done. There is no one here "keeping close tabs" on the residents other than the usual concerns one neighbor has for another. The number is 376 765 4045 and the office manager is David.

Edit to add:  while I often disagree w/his postings, I always enjoy looking at another point of view and hope he is ok or on vacation or something similar. 

WOOOOO HOOOO!!!!! Our Starlink package arrived today -- a day early -- and it's Gen 1. I'm so excited, I'm doing the "Happy Dance." We'll put it up tomorrow and I'll report back. Fingers crossed!

On a similar note, maybe the Gen 2 is no longer offered/available? I went hunting for the ethernet adapter (before Lou mentioned he received a Gen 1) and saw it is no longer mentioned in the "shop" section on their website.

We'll happily take some of the larger fish or whatever you feel comfortable giving. The pond was here when we bought the house 17 years ago. A little less than a month ago, we had the house, casita, and walls repainted so I had them sand the pond as it need minor touch- ups. I didn't like the small cracks in the paint that appeared, so I redid it last Sunday. The rest of their work was good; I just think they were trying to wrap-up too fast and didn't cover it sufficiently. Unfortunately, this did't show until after they were gone or I know they would have fixed it. No biggie.

3 hours ago, Lou Quillio said:

Take a look at this Starlink coverage tracker:

https://starlink.sx/

 

It tracks all Starlink satellites, and which terrestrial point-of-presence (PoP) each connects to as it move across the sky. By setting your location on a continuously-updating globe animation, starlink.sx can show you which bird you're connected to, which other one you're handed-off to as the first moves out of range, etc.

It's pretty nerdy, but fascinating. Click the "?" for some terse help information.

This is interesting for a couple reasons. First, it makes clear why a Starlink connection  has recurring moments of increased latency: you're continuously switched to the best/closest satellite. This is just the nature of the beast -- and unlike a wired terrestrial system, where any dip in throughput is a bad sign. Starlink provides you a pretty fat pipe (those gaudy download numbers) so that your real-world user experience won't notice the hand offs. Indeed, the Netflix or even YouTube video you're watching is served as an adaptive stream, forever tuning itself to what the requesting client (you, your device, and your network connection) can gracefully handle.

(I've been fortunate to work for the last sixteen years at the most famous of internet companies, doing -- you guessed it -- video compression.)

Another important reason to know the details starlink.sx provides (it's unaffiliated with Starlink or SpaceX, and there are other, similar sites) is so you can help Starlink tune your configuration. There are recent reports of Starlink users noticing that their connections could be better-optimized, notifying Starlink, then finding themselves better routed in a couple days, all because the user did a little research and spoke up. The story goes like this:

The delays that matter happen within Starlink's earthbound plant and the public network (the internet). Your request (say, clicking on a link in a web page) goes from your dish to the satellite in a millisecond or two, then down to a terrestrial PoP in another millisecond or two. Atmospheric conditions can affect things, but not very much.

The PoP next passes your request to the web site you want, waits for the response, then sends that response back up to "your" satellite, which sends it to your dish.

How well the internet portion of this request and response dance works is to some degree beyond Starlink's control, and can involve any number of "hops." That's how TCP/IP and related protocols work. Generally, these PoPs (think data centers, colocation centers, etc.) are built physically near internet backbones and the like, to cut down on hops. In the case of Starlink, though, there's one more consideration.

Let's say you're in Minneapolis, and Starlink connects you through their colo in Dallas. The service works great, fastest you've ever had, and everybody's happy.

But Starlink also has a colo in Chicagoland, much closer to you. Why are they sending you through Dallas? Is it intentional? Is it a conspiracy? Nah. They just haven't yet needed to optimize to that degree. It's a young, boutique service, their users are satisfied, and they've got other things to work on.

But if you tell them, they'll change it.

Will you notice a difference? Maybe, maybe not, or not today. But it's a move in the right direction that can only help, not hurt.

More than that, by going through the exercise, you'll learn stuff worth knowing as consumer satellite internet becomes more commonplace. And it absolutely will.

LQ

 

I won't admit how many times I had to look up the terminology (technodino) but that was really helpful, thanks!

I honestly feel like a kid waiting to open up the big box under the Xmas tree. 

We're in Chapala Haciendas. Either we caught a break or you might want to contact the company since it sounds like you've fallen through the cracks.

We ordered on 19 April, had confirmation within hours and just received the notification today (25 April) that it is scheduled for delivery on the 29th!!!

Fingers crossed that it's the Gen 1 version. If not, we'll deal

I'll report back once we've received it and have it up and running. Whoo hoo!

As promised... (ignore the different shades. In normal light, it's all the same)

I've sent you a PM. 

 A couple of suggestions:  one is the obvious--install cameras if you can. The other is to get the Ring doorbell (Costco had them the last time I was there)I or do what we did:  get the knock-off version on Amazon. We bought the Aosu which wasn't that cheap, but boy does it give a nice, clear picture and has a feature to record if someone tries to disable it. If someone should show up again, you might still lose an item but you'll have a recording of who that person was and can take it to the police (ha, ha, yeah I know that won't do much good) or you can circulate the photo. Neither is a cheap solution but they do work.

There is a guy who makes the rounds in our fracc and I'm sure many others. He claims to be looking for a work and offers to do anything, ie washing cars, etc. His ruse is to get in and then scope the place out to rob it. We lost the "nice" a long time ago (insert joke here) and just politely cut it off and close the door. We're fortunate that you can't see anything from the gate so he seems to have given up on us. Our gardener warned us about him as he's pretty well known in the community. You can be nice, but that doesn't mean you have to let uninvited strangers cross your threshold.

18 hours ago, Shag said:

$200 went today, chapala, excellent dr.  Gringo landia is always more expensive.  Went to Chopo lab recommended by gringo serving dr.,,,,3 times the cost of my lab in Chapala......Also, you can go to Similares pharmacy in chapala and go to their dr, just to the left of the pharmacy, I think 50 pesos, but not totally sure.  Just know its very very lo

In defense of Chopo, their blood tests are usually much more in-depth than the local labs. Of course, it also depends on what you actually need, so a local lab can make sense and Shag is absolutely right that we're going to pay a premium in certain locations. Since hubster requires follow-up testing, etc, his specialist recommended a change of lab as a sort of "second opinion." We went to Chopo near Pancho's since it was convenient. Wow! We were very impressed at just how in-depth the blood work was. If you order your tests online, you also get a discount. The folks we've seen at Chopo have all been very professional and helpful. Better still, they're surprisingly fast AND gentle. I was wrapping my feet around the chair for the blood work (color me yellow) when I was told it was over. They're not the cheapest, but they're worth every peso. YMMV

Ajijic Hospital, consultation/visit...$400 pesos (straight visit, no tests)

Really appreciate the info! I'm going to go to the link you gave and check it out. Hope it all goes well since this sounds like it could be exactly what we want.

UPDATE:  we bit the bullet and ordered Starlink. The youtube links really helped. I'm so amazed at how basic it seems...although it won't be me trying to install it, lol. Will report back when we're up and running. Thanks again!

Dumb question (technodino here)...who does the installation? Do you have to find someone or is it a part of the package? We are really, really REALLY ready to go with this since our internet buffers like there's no tomorrow. TIA

BTW, did I mention that we're ready for this? lol

On 4/12/2022 at 9:48 PM, thomashellyer said:

 

Connected to Starlink today. Location: Santa Cruz de la Soledad.  Download speeds:  160-250 mbps   Upload speeds:  25-30 mbps   Beyond giddy.   10 years of garbage internet options and $10,000 of thousands of Telcel data fees and FINALLY decent internet. Worth every penny and more... PICTURE: Screen shot of highest recorded speed of the day... 

 This brought a tear to my eye! How long did it take from order to receipt?

7 hours ago, lakeside7 said:

Regardless of which diet you select, quantity, volume plays a large part and for many of you who did not pig out before, you would not be having health issues, period

Since you are clearly ignorant on the topic and have absolutely nothing useful to contribute, why did you even bother replying to this topic? 

You're not alone, Fred. My eyes cross every time I try to research a particular food item. DIfferent sites say different things...and these are reputable sites (ie Mayo Clinic). I've also ordered several renal diet books and --surprise! -- they also contradict each other. The other problem is that there is so much hidden crap in most food. You can read the label and decide whether the sodium is low (usually isn't if it's a packaged item), but most labels don't list the potassium...so out comes the cell phone. I try to keep things as natural/basic as possible but you need something that feels like a treat to make it bearable....and on and on. 

Start out with the Davita site and find things that you enjoy and slowly make adjustments as you grow more comfortable. Hubs has taken the attitude that he'll follow the restrictive diet but if he wants a treat every now and then, he's going to have it. His attitude is that he's 75 and he's going to go from something, so why be miserable? He has regular blood work and appointments with the nephrologist, so we're honestly just winging it to find what works. 

I know the above isn't really much of a help or comfort, but just know that you're not stumbling alone.

2 hours ago, Alpha1 said:

I had a dietitian that specialized in nephrology patients. She told me I could eat all the bagels I wanted, my weight has never been the same since. So much for "professional"  advice.

Not to mention that put two together in a room and you get two different opinions. It's truly a hard road to navigate.

I think it's safe to say that anytime you buy a pre-made product, you're getting a lot of "extras" in it, whether it's beef, fake beef or just a packaged item. I know I'm going off on a tangent here (sorry), but one of the best online videos I saw was a cardiologist who basically said, "if it has a label, then don't bother." His obvious point was that the closer to natural, the better. Unfortunately, that's not reality for most of us, especially those who suck at cooking, so you just do the best you can and make choices you can live with. As always, JMHO.

Does it matter? If you don't eat meat for whatever reason (ethical, health, personal preferences, etc), then it's nice to have a quick alternative. If you do, then why do you care? Do you do this with every product you see?

Just for curiosity's sake, Google the chemicals in your "pure" beef...not so 100% after all unless you're always buying organic and even then...

bmh, I am so sorry for your loss and all that you've been put through. 

To answer the question, we used Ambulancias Michel S. de R.L. de C.V. that operate in conjunction with Riberas Medical Center.  332-637-9278 They transported hubby to a Guad hospital when he had an emergency and they were great. FWIW, please remember that any private/independent ambulance service is going to want to be paid immediately, so be sure to carry your card/cash if you're the support. 

21 hours ago, sm1mex said:

As a medical professional and teaching many disease related diets a dietician is the way to go here. 

I don't think bmh is thumbing a nose at you, but the reality is that it's hard to find a nutritionist for CKD. We're sort of stumbling in the dark with it, too, and the Davita site has been a godsend. The hubster is having a hard time with the blandness of the diet and the restrictions, so anything that makes the boring a little more palatable is much appreciated. Of course, it doesn't help that neither of us is even average in the kitchen, so that's another glitch...