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Gut check
Plug in, drop out
Send in the drones:-)
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. I must be living a boring life. The most interesting thing I can think of—outside my continuing adventures trying to get my solar water and PV systems—is the little adventure at the Digestive Health Center for an upper endoscopy I had last week. I’ve got a persistent pain in my right abdomen, just under my rib cage. I’ve whined about it before, and it was truly the first non-traumatic thing that I ever went to the doctor for. That’s going on 18 years ago. At any rate, the upper endoscopy is the other end of the colonoscopy that I got when I turned 50. What they do is knock you out, stick a scope down your throat, and take pictures. There was a tiny hiatal hernia, but no damage from the years of what’s been diagnosed as acid reflux or GERD. It suggests that the original diagnosis of some gall bladder issue seems more likely than ever. My doctor did give me some kind of cool advice. Before the procedure, I explained that I never take the Prilosec my doctors always prescribe because it seems to prevent me from digesting my food correctly, exchanging one sort of pain for another. His advice was, “Keep doing what you’ve been doing,” and since I was a bit zoned out from the sedation, he had to explain, “Yeah, don’t take the Prilosec.” He then gave me the generic diet advice: No spicy foods, don’t lie down for twothree hours after eating, raise the head of the bed, no caffeine or alcohol. So, it seems likely my gall bladder needs some adjustment. The doctor specifically mentioned that he doesn’t really buy into those olive oil gall bladder cleanses, but there was something going on behind his eyes that suggested maybe he wasn’t quite convinced there’s not something to them. On the other hand, since he’s a guy who stares at assholes for a living, maybe he’s less likely to engage with his eyes than most. Here we go, this should be fun. If somebody has a gall bladder treatment they particularly like, drop me a line.
Re “Fight with power” (Editor’s note, Jan. 16): As the owner of a solar power system, I am still a customer of NV Energy, and they charge me $9 a month for the privilege. It doesn’t make any difference to the electricity which side of the meter I am on. If I don’t use all the power when it is generated, it goes onto the grid and is consumed by my neighbors. In this way, I am just like the “peaking” power plants in your column. The major difference, is that I am not a “dispatchable.” My system was installed with the help of the Solar Generations program. Because of that, all the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) produced by my system are owned by NV Energy. At the time I installed, the RECs were worth as much as the electricity itself, about 12 cents per KWh. To me, the grid is the perfect battery. I can store electricity at 100 percent efficiency, and it is maintenance free. As a net-meter customer, my system size is currently limited to 50 percent more than I can use. Which is fine with me. If the rules change, and I only get the avoided cost rate, it might make more sense for me to leave the grid completely. Dan Casale Sparks
Re “Drone on” (15 Minutes, Jan. 16): Kudos to visionary Dr. Maragakis and his supportive staff at University of Nevada, Reno. It’s going to take much more than wide open spaces and sunny skies to attract the Unmanned Autonomous Systems industry and its high-paying careers to the Silver State. I’ve wondered how many UNR STEM graduates have been able to find employment in the region. I trust this new program, beginning as a minor, will blossom, and allow many graduates to remain and contribute economically to the area we all enjoy so much I notice Ms. Chatterjee studiously avoided the tainted, or even disgraced term “drone” in her interview. Unmanned Autonomous Systems is a mouthful and even UAS does not exactly roll off the tongue. I propose, that, when in print, we stay with “drone,” but add an emoticon, “drone:-)” to differentiate good drones from, well, not so good drones. How this will be handled in the spoken word, I shall leave to those much smarter than I. My concern is that the original term is just not going to go away. Steve Waclo Carson City
Pigeon hero
Re “Out, damned pot” (Upfront, Jan. 16): Nevada still has one of the worst written and unfair medical marijuana laws in the country. We voted as a state to allow sick people access to one more medication that they can add to their arsenal of deadly prescription drugs. Pot is not just fun to smoke, it really does help very sick people. These are people tired of being dittoheads and just taking their corporate-manufactured drugs. Most prescription
Re “Cruel service” (Letters to the Editor, Jan. 16): Thanks to Kevan Shaw for coming to the aid of the abused pigeon at the Eldorado Hotel Casino on New Year’s Eve. It is heartwarming to be reminded of the wonderful people out there who are willing to take the initiative to help those who are being mistreated, be they people or animals. It’s fortunate that Mr. Shaw was in the right place at the right time and was willing to act. Julie Douglass Reno
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Law promotes criminality
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drugs have severe side effects. So does pot. Ever seen your roommate destroy a bag of Doritos and ruin your sofa? So here are some facts about getting your medication papers from the state of Nevada. You call the guy in the Big Nickel ad. He asks you what your ailment is, he then tells you what state building you can get your application at and when you fill it out, for $150 dollars, he will tell you the only doctor in Northern Nevada willing to risk his license for your cash. None of the pot docs will take insurance for this medical recommendation. Medical marijuana has no prescription. Otherwise it would be protected under the Health Information Privacy Act. Your medical info becomes public knowledge. So after paying the Pot Pimp and the Pot Doc cash, you still pay the state $150 for your papers and another $12 for your picture. Now you need to find a provider of your medicine, and it is not at the pharmacy with the corporate stuff. It is still in the alley, park or casino parking lot. So after all the time and money spent on this law, like my doc said, just pay the ticket. It is cheaper, and the DMV doesn’t call you a pot head. Any dispensary in Northern Nevada will be closed by the government or lack of patients who can afford to follow our laws. The only real answer to this problem of regulation, greed and crime is to legalize it. Roberta Moose Reno
It’s humor, but it’s a dry humor Water, water, everywhere—except here in the West and Southwest. Just in case some of the readers are not aware, have roots in the Amazon, or just live in a cave; we live in what’s called a “desert region” here in Nevada. Here it comes again this spring and summer, and it’s called drought. We old timers have seen it before, Distribution Manager Valerie Mets Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Ron Large, Joe Medeiros, Andy Odegard, Jesse Pike, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Gary White, Joseph White, Sam White General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist
so it comes as no surprise to us, and we have endured the condition before, and not too long ago. In this writing I do not solicit a 200-page report on climate warming because we just can’t do a thing about it. Though I do not favor the use of the term, “It is what it is,” I will never the less lean on it here. Be prepared for a weekly shower with your domestic partner, and if you have children a collective and all-at-once bathing experience will just have to suffice. Once again we of the older set have been there, done that many years ago. For all the “greenies” out there, you might take my example to heart. Many years ago, I began a ritual to do my share for water conservation. As a male, the task is easily accomplished. However, the ladies of the household may find the task uncomfortable and perhaps not to their liking. Easy—instead of using the porcelain fixture within the house when I needed to relieve my bladder, I took to taking the chore outside to my back yard. After choosing a few select areas of unwanted weeds and/ or other invasive plant life in mostly private areas, I attacked with urine. These unwanted plants do not do well in a constant, unrelenting stream of body acids. I surmise that over the years I have saved thousands of gallons of precious water that usually and wastefully, just go down the tube. At the same time I have controlled or eliminated the unwanted weeds and invasive plants with no use of harmful, commercially produced chemicals. I have nurtured another bonus over the years, since I drink very little water and instead prefer a cold beer or two and again two or three glasses of red wine before and during dinner. More ammunition for my attack on the unwanted plants in the back yard. Dan Archuleta Sparks
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JANUARY 23, 2014
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RN&R
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