Thursday, June 29, 2023
Improved downspout-extension coupling-technique
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Excellent overview of human spiritual evolution on Earth
One of Rudolf Steiner's best lectures for anyone trying to get a basic understanding of the world is Lecture 5 (The Reappearance of Christ in the Etheric, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/ReapChrist/19100306p01.html) of the series entitled The Event of the Appearance of Christ in the Etheric World, at rsarchive.org. If your browser has something similar to the "reader view" feature in Firefox, I suggest using it for easiest reading.
Monday, July 19, 2021
A proposal for a piracy-proof pay-per-play digital audio system
7/30/21 (see Notes)
Anyone with a TV knows that high-res recordings sound much better than CDs. My cheap old system can't reproduce very high frequencies very well (although once in a while I'm very satisfied with it), and yet I can clearly hear the superiority of TV-audio over CDs. We typically assume that this is due to the higher sampling rate and resolution of high-res digital, but according to various articles by audio authorities, including High-Resolution Audio: Does it Sound Better? by Goldmund Acoustic Laboratory (posted to Goldmund.com), so-called high-res recordings for consumers use only about 16 bits of the format's 24 bits, and sampling rates over 44.1 kHz are useless at best.
An article entitled Is high-resolution audio really as good as it sounds?, by Ian Paul of TechHive, cites experts who contend that high-def audio sounds better because "sound engineers often put more care and attention into higher-resolution recordings than they do to mass market CD releases." This implies that CDs could sound as good as high-res recordings if the engineers would do a better job of the mastering, but I suspect that the mediocre mastering is deliberate, because the music industry doesn't want to put their best recordings on CD, at least when the corresponding album is new and popular, because perfect copies of CDs can be made easily. So, at first they give us versions made from substandard analog masters, or a poor mastering job, such as by using too much compression or bandwidth-limiting, or by shoving the detail down into the dither. [1] Later, they sell expensive high-res versions based on superior source recordings and/or superior mastering. There are quite a few exceptions to this strategy, such as Jean-Luc Ponty's CDs [2], but I'd rather that it didn't exist at all.
Other experts contend that high-res formats do provide audible benefits. Dan Lavry of Lavry Engineering, which manufactures high-end DACs and pro-grade ADCs, recommends a minimum sampling rate of 60 kHz (36% higher than 44.1 kHz), and apparently a minimum of 18 bits, which practically speaking requires the use of 24-bit formats with 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz sampling-rates. Anything higher than 96 kHz, he claims, only adds problems. Based on my experience listening to CD-grade digital, I tend to agree with Lavry, because the high end on even the best CDs doesn't seem sufficiently "airy" or "open." So it seems to me that we need a new standard consumer format, with a bit-depth of 20 bits and a sampling rate slightly higher than 60 kHz, to which the existing high-res formats could be converted cleanly and fairly easily. Such a standard would minimize the file size while providing the highest audio quality.
Good recordings and masterings are typically placed on LPs from the start, because LPs can't be copied exactly and easily, like CDs. (There are error-correction systems built into the CD record/playback system. Software is stored on CDs, and it can't have any errors.) Some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Goldmund Reference turntable, in an attempt to extract all of the detail from their LPs. I've heard a $10K Linn Sondek LP12, which for me was a revelation in palpability, and Linn has recently introduced a new design for the LP12's platter-bearing. So, LPs can sound much better than most of us will ever know.
A record-cleaning machine is absolutely essential for anyone who's serious about getting the maximum detail from LPs, as well as minimizing wear. A "dustbuster" just doesn't cut it. When you buy your first turntable, get a cheaper turntable if necessary to get a record-cleaning machine. You can upgrade your turntable later, but you can't undo record wear.
Tangential (linear-tracking) tonearms seem like a good idea, because they eliminate tracking error and skating force. According to Myles B. Astor, PhD, Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com, on AudioNirvana.org (https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/the-audio-vault/analog-playback/tonearms/49834-linear-tracking-tonearms),
"High-end audio seems to be filled with those products that offer the promise of exceptional performance but are held back by some flaw or another. Those products that you know in your heart can be fixed if given a little TLC. Then you find out after spending ages with that component that no matter what you do that issue will never be resolved.
"One such product is linear tracking (air and mechanical). I'm sure that many of us here at one time or another (or still do) in their audio journey mounted a linear tracking arm on the turntable. Yes, in theory linear tracking arms offer the ultimate in LP playback. But in reality, linear tracking arms are held back many issues not the least of which include:
Movement and ability to maintain tangency to the groove [some tangential arms use sensors to detect deviations from tangency, and servo motors to move the arm along the track, which I always thought was a bad design]
Solidity and low octave reproduction [some tangential arms are too light and flimsy]
Susceptibility to warp wow with short arms [some tangential designs have very short arms]
High horizontal mass [a problem when playing records that aren't perfectly round, requiring the entire arm to move back and forth to track the record]
Air flow issues [with air-bearing arms]
Machining issues eg. the best air bearings might have a 1/10,000 of an inch tolerance and finding a material that isn't susceptible to temperature fluctuation is challenging
Freedom of movement
Inability to maintain azimuth across the record [airplane azimuth: wing up/down - I don't know why this is an issue]
Setup can be frustrating
"Yet, some of the best sound I've ever heard is from air bearing arms such as the now sadly discontinued Air Tangent tonearm. The arm's resolution, sense of spaciousness and soundstage were something to behold. But at the same time, the arm wasn't the equal of a pivoted arm when it came to reproduction of the lowest octaves. The of course, there's the issue of convenience. After a while, who wants to hassle with air compressors, filters, tubing running everywhere in the room. Especially in smaller apartment quarters as opposed to someone with a house who could put the compressor in another room, garage or basement.
"But honestly, I do miss listening to those arms and sometimes I ponder putting a linear tracking in addition to a pivoted arm on my turntable. Maybe one day."
That day might have arrived. Bergmann Audio of Denmark has devised an elegant ball-bearing design (see photo). The design concept isn't entirely new, but the implementation is simpler and more precise than its predecessors, which can be seen on the aforementioned Positive Feedback page. I suppose that the bearings are permanently lubricated with something like a Teflon film on the bearing races. The bearings and track could just be blasted with canned air periodically to get rid of dust. It could probably be implemented for a few hundred dollars in carbon fiber (the bearings and probably the track would have to be metal, however). It's not yet on the market as of this writing, so perhaps they're still tweaking the design, or perhaps they're afraid that it would destroy the market for the ridiculously expensive air-bearing designs. There's a recent patent (9019806b1) for a different ball-bearing design (see patent drawing, below) which is very clever and potentially very inexpensive by tangential-arm standards, although it has potential problems, such as space requirements, lateral mass, and durability (such as if any of the rods gets slightly bent). So, hopefully the patent isn't preventing Bergmann's arm from being introduced, and hopefully the Bergmann design will become available on affordable turntables.
But I'm not interested in the ultimate sound quality for myself - I just want to be able to enjoy music, and I find that one of the biggest factors in being able to enjoy a particular recording, assuming that the record/playback chain is fairly transparent, is being in the mood to listen to the recording. (My speakers leave much to be desired, but I can put up with them until someone comes out with a $1K pair knock-offs of the $60K B&W Nautilus, including the amps and analog electronic crossovers. The cabinets could be molded, the drivers don't have to be the ultimate, and the crossovers and amps could be combined into modules to be placed next to the speakers.)
So, I propose a system which would allow us to obtain good digital recordings, of whatever sampling rate and bit-depth we prefer (assuming that someone is willing to provide them, and as long as there are suitable players/DACs), without the possibility of piracy, and which would allow consumers to be charged a little each time they play their copy, so that the album doesn't have to be sold over and over again as better and better digital versions to keep making money. So, everyone would win, and it would be cost-effective for consumers, despite having to pay a little each time they play something. The source-file would be downloaded in encrypted form and stored in encrypted form on devices owned by the consumer. The files would be encrypted for the intended player, and only the decryption key stored on the player could decrypt them. Nobody would ever have access to the decryption key, which would be stored in EEPROM which would be erased within seconds if any of the following occurred:
A) The player's case were opened (which would require cutting or breaking the case, or special tools which would be illegal for consumers to obtain)
B) Any motion, such as a drill bit, were detected by motion sensors within the case
C) If the temperature got too low or too high, perhaps indicating a plan to kill the internal batteries, which would be highly reliable rechargeable batteries with a reasonable temperature range.
D) If the internal battery voltage got too low, perhaps indicating a plan to let the batteries die in order to access the decryption keys. The player would provide as much warning as possible to connect the AC adapter, depending on how quickly the batteries were being drained, before erasing the EEPROM. Replacement EEPROMs could be installed only under tightly controlled conditions at the factory, where it could be ascertained that nobody had had access to the decryption key on the EEPROM.
The player would also try to send an alert (including GPS data in this situation only, due to the potential for a crime in progress, possibly at some otherwise-unknown location) to the server immediately, or at least as soon as it could establish a link to the server.
There would obviously have to be special provisions for preventing the EEPROM from being erased during assembly or repair, when the case would be open. Perhaps the activation-code (which the server would normally provide, and which would be changed after every activation) could be entered, followed by a code to disable the motion sensors. Naturally, after the player is reassembled, the sensors would be re-enabled. This would be performed only at the factory under tightly controlled circumstances, and be done in a manner which would prevent anyone from having access to the decryption key or the activation code. (If the existing activation code and a new activation code aren't entered by a certain time and date, due to the owner's failure to pay the bill, the player would be deactivated, but obviously the decryption key wouldn't be erased, and the activation code would still be valid. When the owner pays the bill, the current and next activation codes would be sent the next time the player connects to the server. (There could be a button on the player to cause it to connect to the server, instead of waiting for it to do so automatically.) Obviously deactivation doesn't deactivate the player's ability to connect to the server - just the ability to play music. In fact, if the player fails to connect to the server every few hours, a music-industry security official would try to contact the owner to determine what's going on, and the police would pay a visit if the owner doesn't respond. Prospective buyers would be informed of these conditions to ensure that they are willing to accept them, and to let them know that there is no way to beat the system.
Huge rewards could be offered during the development phase for cracking the security, so that the best hackers would do their best to crack it.
The player would have analog outputs only, to ensure that nobody could build a device that would provide access to the unencrypted data. So, even the basic player would have an excellent DAC-section, which isn't difficult with modern DAC-chips. There could also be high-end models.
The player would keep track of what's played on it (the player would contain an FeRAM or MRAM - nonvolatile memories with better data-retention than flash memory at high temperatures, although with other problems such as relatively tiny capacity and relatively high write-current requirements). This information would be uploaded to the server at the end of the billing-cycle, and if the bill weren't paid in a reasonable amount of time, the player would be deactivated during one of its more frequent security-related connections to the server. The activation-code would be changed for each billing-cycle, and would be unique for every player.
When it's time to contact the server, which would be controlled by an internal clock (which would be synchronized to internet time whenever the player is connected to the server), the player would establish a secure link to the server by means of an IoT module. Although very little data would be sent over this link, it would have to be very secure because it would contain the authorization codes (current and next) and usage-data. The details would have to be worked out by a circuit designer who is familiar with each aspect of the overall design.
The manufacturing process would be automated and monitored by security personnel to ensure that nobody would ever have direct access to the decryption keys.
To convince people to switch to the new system, a representative selection of its music would be available in decrypted form for free.
Although quantum computers might some day be able to easily crack some types of asymmetric encryption (i.e. with separate encrypt and decrypt keys), there are already some types which quantum computers can't crack, and experts are working on others.
The server would serve files from all record labels, and be protected by a bullet-proof firewall, or a series of firewalls, which would limit inputs to the server to a specific format, and validate every input to ensure that it conforms to a valid selection and an activated player, and that the registered owner is making the request, such as via two-layer authentication and perhaps an iris scan, to absolutely prevent hacking.
There would also be a limit on how much someone could be charged per billing period, so that people can feel free to play as much music as they like, without worrying about receiving a massive bill. However, the amount would be sufficient to pay a fair amount to the music industry for any amount of music that someone would likely play in a billing period.
It would be convenient and inexpensive for the vast majority of people to download these files, such as free access to wi-fi hotspots for this purpose. Eliminating the need to download the music every time you want to listen to it is one of the main advantages of this system. High-res streaming requires a heavy-duty internet connection whenever listening, and universal high-res streaming would put a heavy load on the internet. If and when high-capacity NRAM becomes available, it will become feasible to download vast amounts of data to a wi-fi-connected phone at extreme rates, and store it indefinitely even at 200F. The files could be copied or transferred to a couple of large drives (primary and backup), which would serve as a personal music archive.
Some might object to this system by noting that the analog output could be digitized and stored as a regular FLAC-file, and played with something that wouldn't levy per-play charges, but the inconvenience, loss of quality, and lack of significant savings would prevent most people from committing this form of theft. Besides, this can already be done with LPs and high-res streaming.
Music could still be released on CDs for those who don't like the idea of paying a little each time they listen to a high-quality digital recording of their favorite music, and would rather pay more for a lower-quality recording on CD to avoid paying a small amount each time they listen to it.
Notes
Revs
7/29/21 - Expanded the section on tangential tonearms, because after further examination of the issue, I found indications that they do sound significantly better than pivoting arms, and that Goldmund at one time sold a version of their cost-no-object turntable with a tangential arm.
7/30/21 - Revised the paragraph on the Bergmann tonearm.
[1] Dither is noise with a special frequency balance, with an amplitude of about 1 LSB p-p, added after mixing, etc. to mask the grittiness of 16-bit digital recordings, and to give the impression that there's 20 bits of dynamic range, so that for example fade-outs don't have audible cutoffs. With dither, bit 16 becomes a sort of DSD-bit, which allows it to represent details smaller than it normally would, but limited to low-frequency details, with high-frequency details converted to noise, which I believe explains the flakiness of the high-end on many CDs.
[2] The original CD-release of Ponty's album Open Mind (which includes outstanding solos by Chick Corea on synth, and George Benson on electric guitar) was apparently digitized with a Sony PCM-1610 16-bit, 44.1 KHz digital processor with stock input filters, so that the CD has a dry high end and mediocre imaging. However, the 1990 release was apparently digitized with a PCM-1610 with Apogee's superior input filters, which produced recordings with a detailed, liquid high end and good imaging, and the transfer to digital was otherwise done very well. The analog master was also excellent, so the CD is very clean and juicy. The music is great for unwinding. The 1990 release, which is sold by Amazon and perhaps others, is apparently distinguished from the original release only by differences of a few seconds in the listed duration-times of the cuts (the catalog number and packaging are the same for both releases). The 1990 release's listed duration-times are as follows: 1-8:05; 2-6:05; 3-4:57; 4-7:17; 5-5:14; 6-7:40.
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Using plastic downspout-sections to make a long downspout drain extension
Rev 9/24/21 (see Notes)
Here are some ideas for creating very long temporary downspout extensions which ould be installed whenever heavy downpours are expected, and removed afterward. My situation required either an expensive labor-intensive underground PVC-pipe extension, or the solution shown here. The main idea is the method for connecting the downspout-sections together, which is shown in a few of the photos. I used scissors to cut about 2" along the outer corrugations on the wide sides (see the end-view photo, in which the "flaps" are pulled together with tape to make it easier to see the cuts) at one end. This allows it to act as a socket. I also put Gorilla tape on the top and bottom to seal about 3/4" of the cuts to prevent the input-section from being inserted too far and tearing the cuts further, and to prevent all but a tiny amount of leakage on the bottom.
Each downspout-section must have a downward slope to keep the water flowing from input to output instead of out through a joint. Obviously the input-section's bottom must go on top of the socket's bottom, like shingles are overlapped. But even then, the joints leak a little, so if you need to totally eliminate leaks from a particular joint, you can use tape to seal the bottom of the joint. "Duck"/duct tape is probably adequate for short-term seal. Gorilla tape is overkill, and hard to remove when you want to disconnect the joint.
By cutting the input-section at an angle (see photos), so that its bottom edge goes into the socket first, it's much easier to insert it into the socket, and the bottom-overlap isn't reduced, which would increase leakage. Tucking the upper "flap" of the socket under the top of the input-section gets it out of the way of the rubber bands used in some cases (see photos). I considered removing the top flap, but it's not worth the effort as far as I can tell.
Joints that aren't taped together to seal them probably don't need to be held together by anything more than friction, but just to be on the safe side, I attached plastic hooks as shown, using PVC cement (which is normally used for gluing PVC pipe-fittings), and used rubber bands to provide additional force to hold these joints together. Allow the PVC cement to cure before putting any force on the hooks. It seemed like a good idea at first, because it was quick and easy to stretch rubber bands over the hooks. But the rubber bands didn't last long in the sun, and in the process of assembling or disassembling the downspout-extension, the plastic hooks sometimes got in the way and were easily broken. So, I now recommend using duck/duct tape or Gorilla tape to hold the sections together, if you think they need it.
I tried to use flex couplings (such as the one which can be seen in photo B) to join all of the downspout-sections, but they didn't work out very well because the water had problems going over the flex-coupling accordion-section, due to the extension's shallow slope. There can be no obstructions in the water's path, or it will try to get out some other way, and in this case, that means out though the bottom of the flex-coupling's input. The flex couplings are designed to be used with the input pointed straight up to catch the gutter's output, so the input is very loose and doesn't seal to the source-tube.
Notes
Revisions
9/24 - Changed recommended method for holding downspout-sections together due to problems with using plastic hooks and rubber bands.
Monday, June 21, 2021
Niacin: The Amazing Nutrient Disguised As Just Another B-Vitamin
Rev 9/13/21 (see Notes)
In April of 2021 I found a January 2021 article entitled Niacin and Cancer: How vitamin B-3 protects and even helps repair your DNA (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v17n05.shtml), and from there discovered Niacin: The Real Story by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., which is available as a paperback and in a couple of ebook formats. I also found a review of NTRS and some good articles on niacin by going to DoctorYourself.com and searching for 'niacin.'
It appears that niacin deficiency might be the central underlying cause of cancer which the medical establishment is concealing from us to protect their wealth and power. NTRS mentions that Dr. Hoffer gave large doses of niacin and ascorbic acid to a 75-year old with terminal lung cancer, and heard a year later (from the oncologists who had given up on him, apparently) that his cancer had disappeared. Still, he died two years or so after Dr. Hoffer first saw him, although the book doesn't indicate a cause of death, but does indicate that no autopsy was performed.
But niacin does much more that to protect and repair DNA. I've enclosed the following excerpts from NTRS, some of which overlap the aforementioned review:
Excerpts and paraphrased passages from Niacin: The Real Story by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Once niacin is transformed to NAD inside the cell, it is used in more bio-chemical reactions than any other vitamin-derived cofactor (over 450).... Does it not therefore come as little surprise that niacin works to provide relief for so many conditions? [Dr. Hoffer indicated that many people doubted his findings because they simply could not believe that anything could be so effective. Others obviously knew he was right, but wanted to suppress the truth to protect the interests of drug manufacturers.]
Aside from [Abram's and Harold's] research, reports of high-dose niacin treatment do not exist in the standard medical education literature.... It is an invaluable resource for everyone interested in maintaining optimal health.
from Foreward
==================
from Preface
Many people have no idea how many illnesses are caused by too little niacin, and practically no one realizes just how many illnesses can be cured with megadoses of niacin.... These conditions, successfully treated by pioneering niacin researcher Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., are based on his more than fifty years of medical practice.... Dr. Hoffer was the world authority on niacin.
=================
from What is Niacin?
Niacin's original name was nicotinic acid. The name was changed to remove confusion with nicotine.... There is a question whether it should have been classed with the vitamins because it can be made in the body from tryptophan and is used by the body in quantities more appropriate to amino acids. It has been suggested that it should be classed as an amino acid, but it is now too late to do anything about this.
=======================
from Ch 3
According to Miller, tuberculosis (TB) is one such example of niacin deficiency and a very important factor in the evolution of schizophrenia.
Some 50% of the population of the developed world seems to suffer from disorders or diseases that respond beneficially to niacin or niacinamide supplementation. This figure is probably an underestimate. Sufferers from arthritis (20%), addictions (10%), children with learning or behavioral disorders (5%), cardiovascular disease, coronary disease and stroke (30%), cancer (50%), schizophrenia, or severe stress (unknown) would very likely improve if given more niacin.
Out of over 5,000 schizophrenic patients and over 1,500 cancer cases that I (AH) have treated since 1955, only eleven have had both diseases. All but one recovered with orthomolecular treatment combined with standard treatment for their cancer.
[Chapter 3 also mentions Dr. Hoffer's experience with treating what we now know as PTSD or PTSS with niacin:
The second major cause [of niacin dependency, besides long-term deficiency] is prolonged stress of any type.... [PTSD] is a very common diagnosis....
[...]
GP ... also suffered from chronic anxiety and fear for which he received psychotherapy. For example, he would not sit in any room with his back to the door.... In 1960 I started a project to study the effect of niacin on aging patients. GP was the director of the institution housing the patients, so I described the effects of niacin, its flush, and so on to him. A few months later he asked me whether he could also take the vitamin [and so it was provided to him].... A few months later he told me that he was okay - and I did not know what he meant. Then he told me about his forty-four months in the prisoner of war camp. Two weeks after starting the niacin, his arthritis was gone ... and he was no longer anxious. He suffered a relapse several years later when he forgot to take his niacin on a trip to the mountains with his son.
[I also found some information on this by Googling "niacin PTSS."]
====================
from Ch 4
There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation without investigation. William Paley (1743-1805)
The RDA for niacin is under 18 mg per day. That is far too low. In 2007, an independent review panel of 22 researchers and physicians issued their recommendation for niacin intake for an adult: 300 mg per day.
The toxic dose for dogs is about 5,000 mg per 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of body weight. We do not know the toxic dose for humans since niacin has never killed anyone.
Niacin is not liver toxic, but niacin does increase liver function tests.
In spite of all this, there is now a government-sponsored "Safe Upper Limit" ... for niacin consumption. It is 35 mg per day.... Among many reasons why it is preposterous is that the so-called Safe Upper Limit is only about twice the RDA!
[...]
Instead, authoritative-sounding speculation is offered to the public in the form of statements like this: "Supplement users at risk from ignorance of tolerable upper limits ... Consuming too many nutrients can lead to harmful side-effects.... The authors of this paper claim that side-effect symptoms will likely occur in half of those persons taking 100 mg of supplemental niacin.... We consider such statements to be scare-mongering and sensationalism.
In his 55 years of experience with thousands of patients, Dr. Hoffer found that even 40,000 mg of niacin daily is not toxic. He estimated that over 200,000 mg per day is fatal. There is a built-in safety valve with niacin: vomiting.... The safety margin is very large.
[...]
The Niacin Flush
(Not a quote from the book)
I gather from reading the section on the niacin flush in Ch 4 that the flush is basically caused by the release of histamine, although it's more complex than that, and nobody seems to understand it precisely. So the idea is to work your way up to your desired dose (take it after each meal, and increase the dosage a little every day) without triggering an intense flush, which makes you feel warm, dry, and itchy and can last for an hour or so, and then to keep taking niacin with every meal to prevent the histamine from building back up. I was able to work up to taking 1 gram after each meal in a few days by starting out with 100 mg and increasing my dose by about 100 mg whenever I thought I could handle an increase. I like to feel a slight flush to confirm that I took actual niacin and that it's working.
However, I caution against taking a lot of tablets because the binders will build up in your body and make you sick. Even capsules contain ingredients besides niacin. I got some Nutricost 500 mg caps from Amazon which seem to be good, but I got some Vitacost 500 mg caps which caused some problems, so you can't assume that all niacin is high-quality stuff. So I suggest getting pure niacin powder in bulk from Amazon and a set of dark-colored plastic measuring spoons (the contrast makes it easier to get a good measurement).
When I actually got some and tried to mix it with water, I found that it doesn't dissolve very well by itself in water. I also learned the hard way that it's very acidic, by getting a cap stuck in my esophagus and having it partly dissolve before I could wash it down. It burned my throat and it took a couple of days for my throat to feel normal after that. Fortunately, both of these problems are easily solved by mixing it in water with half as much baking soda, and letting it fizz for a while to neutralize the acid, which is also how I take ascorbic acid. It's not as tasty as ascorbic acid, but it's not bad when diluted sufficiently. I still get about as much of a flushing-effect as I did with capsules, which isn't much after using it for a few months, and which I like to feel to know that it's working.
I suggest putting perhaps a week's worth in a small vitamin bottle, and use it as your source for individual doses. Be sure to mark the bottle to identify the contents and to warn people that taking it can induce a very uncomfortable flushing-effect which can last for about an hour (which isn't necessarily accurate, but the idea is to scare them), although it probably won't harm them. ("Warning: Pure niacin powder. To avoid intense itching that can last over an hour, do not consume any until you have read trustworthy instructions such as those found at www.doctoryourself.com/niacin.html.) If you need small doses, you can mix larger doses in water and discard some of the mixture.
Start out with 25 mg and work your way up. Niacin: The Real Story indicates that a panel of experts recommended an RDA of 300 mg. The author, Dr. Hoffer, recommends a therapeutic dose of 3 grams per day.
=====================
Ch 9
Vitamin B3 deficiency produces a large variety of psychiatric syndromes.... It appears that a good deal of modern psychiatry depends on patients suffering from unidentified pellagra [B3 deficiency] for its bread and butter.... This includes the psychoses of aging, bipolar disease, and schizophrenic psychoses.
In 1952 ... Abram Hoffer ... had just completed his psychiatry residency ... [and] proven, with the very first double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in the history of psychiatry, that vitamin B3 could cure schizophrenia. You would think that psychiatrists everywhere would have beaten a path to Saskatchewan to replicate [Hoffer's] findings....
In modern psychiatry ... patients, tranquilized into submission or Prozac-ed into La-La Land, are often sitting at home or wandering the streets. Either way, it is doubtful that they will get much in the way of daily vitamin intake. Those in institutions fare little better nutritionally. For everyone "knows" that vitamins do not cure "real" disease.
[...]
For over a half a century, Dr. Hoffer has dissented. His central point has been this: Illness, including mental illness, is not caused by drug deficiency. But much illness, especially mental illness, can be caused by a vitamin deficiency. This makes sense and has stood up to clinical trial again and again.
[...]
[The book then refers to the case of a "bona fide, properly diagnosed, utterly incurable, state-hospitalized schizophrenic patient" who was "so unmanageably violent" that he was kicked out of the asylum and sent to live with his parents. They somehow got him to take 3,000 mg of niacin and 10,000 mg of Vit C, and this hyperactive insomniac responded by sleeping for 18 hours, and he became surprisingly normal within days (I assume that he took some each day).
[End of excerpts from NTRS]
===============================
I've been taking 3 grams per day and have noticed benefits, although I haven't been taking it long so it's too early to know how it will ultimately affect me.
Another interesting book is Death by Calcium by Thomas E. Levy, M.D. He later wrote a book on magnesium entitled Magnesium: Reversing Disease. Magnesium deficiency is a major cause of depression, along with our consumption of omega-6 fatty acids (for which omega-3 is the antidote).
Chinese physicians, with assistance from the Chinese government, have been curing hospitalized Covid-19 patients with intravenous sodium ascorbate (the IV form of Vit C). For information on this, see DoctorYourself.com. You can protect yourself from viral infection (although not necessarily totally) by taking ascorbic acid in sufficient quantities every 3-4 hours. I take it by mixing ascorbic acid powder and half as much baking soda in about 1/4" of water in a glass, allowing it to fizz for a couple of minutes to neutralize the acid (which is bad for teeth), and then adding more water and drinking it. Ascorbic acid powder is available in bulk from Amazon.
Notes
Rev 8/27/21 - Added recommendation to mix niacin powder with half as much baking soda in water so that the niacin mixes better with the water and to neutralize its strong acidity, which can burn.
Rev 9/13/21 - Added passage about PTSS from NTRS.
In April of 2021 I found a January 2021 article entitled Niacin and Cancer: How vitamin B-3 protects and even helps repair your DNA (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v17n05.shtml), and from there discovered Niacin: The Real Story by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., which is available as a paperback and in a couple of ebook formats. I also found a review of NTRS and some good articles on niacin by going to DoctorYourself.com and searching for 'niacin.'
It appears that niacin deficiency might be the central underlying cause of cancer which the medical establishment is concealing from us to protect their wealth and power. NTRS mentions that Dr. Hoffer gave large doses of niacin and ascorbic acid to a 75-year old with terminal lung cancer, and heard a year later (from the oncologists who had given up on him, apparently) that his cancer had disappeared. Still, he died two years or so after Dr. Hoffer first saw him, although the book doesn't indicate a cause of death, but does indicate that no autopsy was performed.
But niacin does much more that to protect and repair DNA. I've enclosed the following excerpts from NTRS, some of which overlap the aforementioned review:
Excerpts and paraphrased passages from Niacin: The Real Story by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Once niacin is transformed to NAD inside the cell, it is used in more bio-chemical reactions than any other vitamin-derived cofactor (over 450).... Does it not therefore come as little surprise that niacin works to provide relief for so many conditions? [Dr. Hoffer indicated that many people doubted his findings because they simply could not believe that anything could be so effective. Others obviously knew he was right, but wanted to suppress the truth to protect the interests of drug manufacturers.]
Aside from [Abram's and Harold's] research, reports of high-dose niacin treatment do not exist in the standard medical education literature.... It is an invaluable resource for everyone interested in maintaining optimal health.
from Foreward
==================
from Preface
Many people have no idea how many illnesses are caused by too little niacin, and practically no one realizes just how many illnesses can be cured with megadoses of niacin.... These conditions, successfully treated by pioneering niacin researcher Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., are based on his more than fifty years of medical practice.... Dr. Hoffer was the world authority on niacin.
=================
from What is Niacin?
Niacin's original name was nicotinic acid. The name was changed to remove confusion with nicotine.... There is a question whether it should have been classed with the vitamins because it can be made in the body from tryptophan and is used by the body in quantities more appropriate to amino acids. It has been suggested that it should be classed as an amino acid, but it is now too late to do anything about this.
=======================
from Ch 3
According to Miller, tuberculosis (TB) is one such example of niacin deficiency and a very important factor in the evolution of schizophrenia.
Some 50% of the population of the developed world seems to suffer from disorders or diseases that respond beneficially to niacin or niacinamide supplementation. This figure is probably an underestimate. Sufferers from arthritis (20%), addictions (10%), children with learning or behavioral disorders (5%), cardiovascular disease, coronary disease and stroke (30%), cancer (50%), schizophrenia, or severe stress (unknown) would very likely improve if given more niacin.
Out of over 5,000 schizophrenic patients and over 1,500 cancer cases that I (AH) have treated since 1955, only eleven have had both diseases. All but one recovered with orthomolecular treatment combined with standard treatment for their cancer.
[Chapter 3 also mentions Dr. Hoffer's experience with treating what we now know as PTSD or PTSS with niacin:
The second major cause [of niacin dependency, besides long-term deficiency] is prolonged stress of any type.... [PTSD] is a very common diagnosis....
[...]
GP ... also suffered from chronic anxiety and fear for which he received psychotherapy. For example, he would not sit in any room with his back to the door.... In 1960 I started a project to study the effect of niacin on aging patients. GP was the director of the institution housing the patients, so I described the effects of niacin, its flush, and so on to him. A few months later he asked me whether he could also take the vitamin [and so it was provided to him].... A few months later he told me that he was okay - and I did not know what he meant. Then he told me about his forty-four months in the prisoner of war camp. Two weeks after starting the niacin, his arthritis was gone ... and he was no longer anxious. He suffered a relapse several years later when he forgot to take his niacin on a trip to the mountains with his son.
[I also found some information on this by Googling "niacin PTSS."]
====================
from Ch 4
There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation without investigation. William Paley (1743-1805)
The RDA for niacin is under 18 mg per day. That is far too low. In 2007, an independent review panel of 22 researchers and physicians issued their recommendation for niacin intake for an adult: 300 mg per day.
The toxic dose for dogs is about 5,000 mg per 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of body weight. We do not know the toxic dose for humans since niacin has never killed anyone.
Niacin is not liver toxic, but niacin does increase liver function tests.
In spite of all this, there is now a government-sponsored "Safe Upper Limit" ... for niacin consumption. It is 35 mg per day.... Among many reasons why it is preposterous is that the so-called Safe Upper Limit is only about twice the RDA!
[...]
Instead, authoritative-sounding speculation is offered to the public in the form of statements like this: "Supplement users at risk from ignorance of tolerable upper limits ... Consuming too many nutrients can lead to harmful side-effects.... The authors of this paper claim that side-effect symptoms will likely occur in half of those persons taking 100 mg of supplemental niacin.... We consider such statements to be scare-mongering and sensationalism.
In his 55 years of experience with thousands of patients, Dr. Hoffer found that even 40,000 mg of niacin daily is not toxic. He estimated that over 200,000 mg per day is fatal. There is a built-in safety valve with niacin: vomiting.... The safety margin is very large.
[...]
The Niacin Flush
(Not a quote from the book)
I gather from reading the section on the niacin flush in Ch 4 that the flush is basically caused by the release of histamine, although it's more complex than that, and nobody seems to understand it precisely. So the idea is to work your way up to your desired dose (take it after each meal, and increase the dosage a little every day) without triggering an intense flush, which makes you feel warm, dry, and itchy and can last for an hour or so, and then to keep taking niacin with every meal to prevent the histamine from building back up. I was able to work up to taking 1 gram after each meal in a few days by starting out with 100 mg and increasing my dose by about 100 mg whenever I thought I could handle an increase. I like to feel a slight flush to confirm that I took actual niacin and that it's working.
However, I caution against taking a lot of tablets because the binders will build up in your body and make you sick. Even capsules contain ingredients besides niacin. I got some Nutricost 500 mg caps from Amazon which seem to be good, but I got some Vitacost 500 mg caps which caused some problems, so you can't assume that all niacin is high-quality stuff. So I suggest getting pure niacin powder in bulk from Amazon and a set of dark-colored plastic measuring spoons (the contrast makes it easier to get a good measurement).
When I actually got some and tried to mix it with water, I found that it doesn't dissolve very well by itself in water. I also learned the hard way that it's very acidic, by getting a cap stuck in my esophagus and having it partly dissolve before I could wash it down. It burned my throat and it took a couple of days for my throat to feel normal after that. Fortunately, both of these problems are easily solved by mixing it in water with half as much baking soda, and letting it fizz for a while to neutralize the acid, which is also how I take ascorbic acid. It's not as tasty as ascorbic acid, but it's not bad when diluted sufficiently. I still get about as much of a flushing-effect as I did with capsules, which isn't much after using it for a few months, and which I like to feel to know that it's working.
I suggest putting perhaps a week's worth in a small vitamin bottle, and use it as your source for individual doses. Be sure to mark the bottle to identify the contents and to warn people that taking it can induce a very uncomfortable flushing-effect which can last for about an hour (which isn't necessarily accurate, but the idea is to scare them), although it probably won't harm them. ("Warning: Pure niacin powder. To avoid intense itching that can last over an hour, do not consume any until you have read trustworthy instructions such as those found at www.doctoryourself.com/niacin.html.) If you need small doses, you can mix larger doses in water and discard some of the mixture.
Start out with 25 mg and work your way up. Niacin: The Real Story indicates that a panel of experts recommended an RDA of 300 mg. The author, Dr. Hoffer, recommends a therapeutic dose of 3 grams per day.
=====================
Ch 9
Vitamin B3 deficiency produces a large variety of psychiatric syndromes.... It appears that a good deal of modern psychiatry depends on patients suffering from unidentified pellagra [B3 deficiency] for its bread and butter.... This includes the psychoses of aging, bipolar disease, and schizophrenic psychoses.
In 1952 ... Abram Hoffer ... had just completed his psychiatry residency ... [and] proven, with the very first double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in the history of psychiatry, that vitamin B3 could cure schizophrenia. You would think that psychiatrists everywhere would have beaten a path to Saskatchewan to replicate [Hoffer's] findings....
In modern psychiatry ... patients, tranquilized into submission or Prozac-ed into La-La Land, are often sitting at home or wandering the streets. Either way, it is doubtful that they will get much in the way of daily vitamin intake. Those in institutions fare little better nutritionally. For everyone "knows" that vitamins do not cure "real" disease.
[...]
For over a half a century, Dr. Hoffer has dissented. His central point has been this: Illness, including mental illness, is not caused by drug deficiency. But much illness, especially mental illness, can be caused by a vitamin deficiency. This makes sense and has stood up to clinical trial again and again.
[...]
[The book then refers to the case of a "bona fide, properly diagnosed, utterly incurable, state-hospitalized schizophrenic patient" who was "so unmanageably violent" that he was kicked out of the asylum and sent to live with his parents. They somehow got him to take 3,000 mg of niacin and 10,000 mg of Vit C, and this hyperactive insomniac responded by sleeping for 18 hours, and he became surprisingly normal within days (I assume that he took some each day).
[End of excerpts from NTRS]
===============================
I've been taking 3 grams per day and have noticed benefits, although I haven't been taking it long so it's too early to know how it will ultimately affect me.
Another interesting book is Death by Calcium by Thomas E. Levy, M.D. He later wrote a book on magnesium entitled Magnesium: Reversing Disease. Magnesium deficiency is a major cause of depression, along with our consumption of omega-6 fatty acids (for which omega-3 is the antidote).
Chinese physicians, with assistance from the Chinese government, have been curing hospitalized Covid-19 patients with intravenous sodium ascorbate (the IV form of Vit C). For information on this, see DoctorYourself.com. You can protect yourself from viral infection (although not necessarily totally) by taking ascorbic acid in sufficient quantities every 3-4 hours. I take it by mixing ascorbic acid powder and half as much baking soda in about 1/4" of water in a glass, allowing it to fizz for a couple of minutes to neutralize the acid (which is bad for teeth), and then adding more water and drinking it. Ascorbic acid powder is available in bulk from Amazon.
Notes
Rev 8/27/21 - Added recommendation to mix niacin powder with half as much baking soda in water so that the niacin mixes better with the water and to neutralize its strong acidity, which can burn.
Rev 9/13/21 - Added passage about PTSS from NTRS.
Monday, August 17, 2020
Good source of information on treating and preventing COVID-19
The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml) is a good source of information on preventing and treating COVID-19. Two of the articles listed there as of this writing are of particular interest - "COVID-19: How can I cure thee? Let me count the ways" (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n37.shtml) by Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD, who has written quite a few books which surprisingly haven't gotten him killed by the pharmaceutical industry. (His legal degree is for protecting himself from the medical establishment.) The article states that "While many supplement regimens can be used for COVID-19 prevention, such regimens should include at a minimum vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium chloride, and zinc. Any of many additional quality nutrient and antioxidant supplements can be added as desired, largely dependent on expense and personal preference."
Elsewhere, the article states that "Since supplemental zinc has only a limited ability to reach the cytoplasm of cells due to its ionic nature, zinc ionophores (agents that complex with zinc and transport it into the cell) are known to be good general antiviral agents. Quercetin is one such supplement, and it can serve as a good adjunctive agent to any COVID-19 treatment protocol.... Chloroquine, discussed below, is also a zinc ionophore, perhaps explaining its potent anti-COVID-19 effects.
According to the article, hydryoxychloriquine is actually very effective at treating and preventing COVID-19, although it's difficult to obtain, and there are many alternatives, none of which the American medical establishment recognizes.
Another article of interest from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is "Vitamin C and Coronavirus: Not a Vaccine, Just a Humble Cure" (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n28.shtml), which describes China's success at treating COVID-19 with IV sodium ascorbate and points out that the global media is suppressing this information. However, I learned about it by performing a simple Google search and sifting through a few pages of results. The latest article as of this writing, an official report from China (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n42.shtml), contradicts the known effects of high-dose IV sodium ascorbate on viruses and downplays China's success.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
The pathetic coronavirus buried under a Mt. Everest of hype
Thanks to the Ice Age Now website, which has a lot of interesting information, I learned of the Facts about Covid-19 webpage, which contains the following:
Professor Klaus Püschel, head of forensic medicine in Hamburg, explains about Covid19: "This virus influences our lives in a completely excessive way. This is disproportionate to the danger posed by the virus. And the astronomical economic damage now being caused is not commensurate with the danger posed by the virus. I am convinced that the Corona mortality rate will not even show up as a peak in annual mortality." In Hamburg, for example, "not a single person who was not previously ill" had died of the virus: "All those we have examined so far had cancer, a chronic lung disease, were heavy smokers or severely obese, suffered from diabetes or had a cardiovascular disease. The virus was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. "Covid-19 is a fatal disease only in exceptional cases, but in most cases it is a predominantly harmless viral infection."
In addition, Dr. Püschel explains: "In quite a few cases, we have also found that the current corona infection has nothing whatsoever to do with the fatal outcome because other causes of death are present, for example a brain haemorrhage or a heart attack. Corona in itself is a "not particularly dangerous viral disease," says the forensic scientist. He pleads for statistics based on concrete examination results. "All speculations about individual deaths that have not been expertly examined only fuel anxiety." Contrary to the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute, Hamburg had recently started to differentiate between deaths "with the" and "by the" coronavirus, which led to a decrease in Covid19 deaths.
Professor Klaus Püschel, head of forensic medicine in Hamburg, explains about Covid19: "This virus influences our lives in a completely excessive way. This is disproportionate to the danger posed by the virus. And the astronomical economic damage now being caused is not commensurate with the danger posed by the virus. I am convinced that the Corona mortality rate will not even show up as a peak in annual mortality." In Hamburg, for example, "not a single person who was not previously ill" had died of the virus: "All those we have examined so far had cancer, a chronic lung disease, were heavy smokers or severely obese, suffered from diabetes or had a cardiovascular disease. The virus was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. "Covid-19 is a fatal disease only in exceptional cases, but in most cases it is a predominantly harmless viral infection."
In addition, Dr. Püschel explains: "In quite a few cases, we have also found that the current corona infection has nothing whatsoever to do with the fatal outcome because other causes of death are present, for example a brain haemorrhage or a heart attack. Corona in itself is a "not particularly dangerous viral disease," says the forensic scientist. He pleads for statistics based on concrete examination results. "All speculations about individual deaths that have not been expertly examined only fuel anxiety." Contrary to the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute, Hamburg had recently started to differentiate between deaths "with the" and "by the" coronavirus, which led to a decrease in Covid19 deaths.
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