Pete Podurgiel

Thanks for the reply, John!

That's interesting to know about the magnesium oxide.
Sounds like I'll have to roll-up my sleeves and dust off my chemistry text books  :-)  ...cheers!

This guy has some neat tricks up his sleeve. He even includes plans for the all the jigs at the end of the video and a tool list in the comments section!

I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I'm really impressed with these hacks:
#6    chisel dowel maker (3:33)
#8    The smartphone bubble-level adapter is too cool. (4:49)
#21  The homemade mini lathe is awesome.  (15:28)

What's your favorite?

Nathan McCormick wrote:

Pete Podurgiel wrote:
Reference:  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6097542/

Two authors without non-personal email addresses associated. Their evidence is 4 people and their case studies. They did not use double blind randomized comtrolled trials. They did not present on purification methods used by industry, since the introduction of A. Niger produced citric acid in 1919, over a hundred years ago. I haven't looked, but my guess is this also wasn't peer reviewed. The whole "unnatural" claim seems bogus and misdirectional, it's about the same as saying yogurt is unnatural or yeast leavened bread is unnatural.

Make of it what you will, but you can add one other person to that list ...the woman that brought this to my attention who was severely allergic to MCA (Manufactured Citric Acid). After hearing for decades how harmful black mold is to our health, I was shocked to learn they use it to produce MCA. I for one, am steering clear of the manufactured stuff.

I think what bothers me the most is it seems just a bit disingenuous calling MCA "citric acid".  Given the name, I feel most people are inclined to believe it is derived from citrus. 'Truth in advertising' and all, it's kinda like calling Rapeseed Oil "Canola Oil" ....I'm guessing "black mold acid" doesn't quite have the same appeal and would a bit too truthy, perhaps?

In any case, knowing what I now know about MCA,  I would like to make my own magnesium citrate   ...any suggestions on where I might find true, food-grade citric acid?   Or can I just use lemon juice and add it to some magnesium carbonate?

This is an excellent video by YASUHIRO TV showing how he uses just a router and a circular saw to fashion strong, press-fit joints.
He even provides a tool list and free plans for the jigs.

How many miles on the car?

Are you able to 'rev' the engine to higher RPMs in park?

Did you have to rev it to get it to go 5mph? Seems to me it should go that speed at idle.

Did it act 'normal' in reverse?

I'm no expert on Lexus, but it might have gone into a limp mode for some reason. Or could be a problem with the torque converter.
I'd start by checking the tranny fluid level. Does it look clean & red, smell burned?

Truth!

I would advise against using it as a food preservative, as 99% of the manufactured stuff is actually made from black mold.
Maybe use it as a cleaner, but I'd recommend avoiding it altogether unless you know it's been derived from real citrus.

Reference:  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6097542/

Highlights
•Citric acid as a food additive is not natural citric acid; it is manufactured through fermentation using Aspergillus niger.
•Aspergillus niger is a potent allergen.
•Food additive manufactured citric acid may be causing allergic inflammatory cascades.
•Manufactured citric acid may be contributing to the inflammation seen in asthma, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, autistic spectrum disorder, and fibromyalgia.
•The safety of manufactured citric acid has never been studied since it was granted GRAS status.

I don't know about you, but I've had it with slugs chewing on my mushrooms, so I've been working on various ways to create 'slug barriers' to keep them off my logs. Not wanting to use commercial slug bait or beer traps, I settled on working with copper.

My first creation was to build a crib of sorts. It's a pretty simple design, all you need are 4 logs (preferably debarked) and some copper pipe. I had some scrap 3/4" pipe on hand, so I went with that.

-  The logs should be about 48" long and 4-6" diameter.
-  Drill two holes in each log (matching the pipe diameter), about 30" apart.  **NOTE: do not drill all the way through the logs, 2-3" deep should be adequate**.
-  Insert 8" lengths of copper pipe into the holes on two of the logs (this needs to be a snug fit, I used a rubber mallet to drive them home). These will be your base logs.  
-  Then bridge the first two logs with the second set and hammer them home.
-  Stack your mushroom logs on top and you're done!

If you find the base logs wanting to roll over on you, drive a couple of lengths of rebar through the base logs approx 12-18" into the ground in order to stabllize them.

This setup worked out pretty well for me. After using this system for a year, I only found one or two slugs made their way to the mushrooms. After looking it over, I figure they crawled up a nearby twig to the stacked logs, so it's a good idea to keep the area free of any nearby brush or tall grass.

Welcome to permies, John!

Given what you describe, I'd go with cutting holes in the wall, one high and one low, with an inline fan in the low hole to blow the cold air towards the stove.  
Something like this should work well and not draw too much juice:

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncourt-Inductor-10-in-Corded-In-Line-Duct-Fan-DB210C/207036896

Ideally, I'd put the stove in the basement, but I'm guessing either you don't have one or it's not an option.

Welcome to permies, Melissa!
I'd like to chat some if you're up for it (PM sent).

This might be the guy Larry had in mind, total inspiration!