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GreaseSpot Cafe

pawtucket

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Posts posted by pawtucket

  1. Hi there,

    If you are reading this, then you are on the new server!

    This should be faster and more efficient than the old server. We had been on the old server since June of 2011.

    Thanks to everyone for donating to the cause. We reached our goal and saved a bunch. By moving to this, we saved close to 800 dollars for the next year.

    Special thanks to the mods as well as Roj for keeping this up and running.

    You will notice that posts are missing from May 30th until today. I was unable to activate the new server until yesterday

    Pawtucket

    • Upvote 1
  2. STOP!

    A number of you are sniping each other. NO personal attacks, NONE, ZERO, ZILCH.

    There is no Amendment protection to say whatever you want. We have stated rules that you accept when you join this forum.  You can not attack other posters and need to respect their privacy.

    I'm tempted to list examples by poster, but won't.

    The moderators do the best that they can, they are not perfect, but who is.

    I am not going to tolerate this.  I think that the weeks the site was down, were some of the highlights this year of the forum.

    I have no problem just closing down the site. 

    If you don't like the rules, leave. If you don't follow the rules, penalties will be applied.

    • Like 1
  3. As many of you know, I stepped back from active management of GSC a few years back. I left the management in capable hands.

    I had a nervous meltdown. Disagreement turned into verbal battles.

    I always wanted this place to be a safe haven for those that left or was in the process of leaving or was thinking of leaving. This would be a place of solace.

    Lately, for some, attacking seems to be the color of the day. Why the need to attack? Why the need to call people names. My attitude has been if you are getting in vicious place, step away from the keyboard!

    The internet is rampant with vicious bravery behind a wall of anonymity

    I only have one word to those guilty of this, Stop! At least on this site.

    And as an aside, the hosting company has been double billing me, we are trying to work this out. If the site is not accessible in the next few days, don't worry.

     

    • Upvote 3
  4. On 9/17/2018 at 8:25 PM, Taxidev said:

    One can have a virtual server, with some pretty big power, for $60 / month.  phpBB and myBB are both powerful boards and both are free.

    The link you show, that GoGeek plan might be big enough for this site, but I don't really have any idea about the traffic level here, or the storage needs.

    If you have no idea, then why don't you say that first, before suggesting I spend too much money.

    I have explained why I go with reliability above inexpensive.

    I don't know why I even started this thread.

    The donations made this week will cover the costs for the next two months, then I will likely close down the site. I have too much else going on to deal with this bickering.  

  5. I had the forums hosted by others for a number of years. 

    We were shut down when Twi made complaints. This happened, I believe, twice. 

    So the solution was to have my own server. 

    And then we wouldn't be shut down. 

    I covered the costs out of my own pocket up until a few years back. 

    I moved from a physical server to a virtual server a number of years ago to reduce costs. 

    Donations are completely voluntary, you are under no obligation to donate. 

    I chose the most reliable companies, not the cheapest so there would be the least downtime. 

    Companies like SiteGround are great, but they can shut you down. I have to ensure that the site can't get shut down.

    I've used PHPBB and I've found that Invision is more robust and have better support when you need it.

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 3
  6. Hi there,

    I used to be able to absorb the costs of this site.  Things have changed unfortunately.

    It costs me about $1200.00 annually. This year, I have received just under $200.00

    lf you can afford a donation, it would be much appreciated. It is not required in any way to use this site.

    I appreciate all the support in past years, I really do.

    The donate button is on every page, upper left.

    Thanks.

    • Upvote 3
  7. Yes Grace you did it correctly, thank you.

    I usually send an email, but I was sick for a while and got behind on my duties.

    I appreciate the generosity, The site has been paid through July, including the renewal for the forum licence.

    • Upvote 2
  8. As you can tell, the forums are updated thanks to the tireless work by greasytech. 

    We ran into more than a few problems, but he got it all solved! 

    For the time being, the document section is unavailable. The software doesn't work as it is outdated. 

    That will be the next project. I don't have an ETA. But will keep you updated. 

     

    • Upvote 1
  9. The upgrade has been slow to implement. I finally have moved the site to the new server.

    Today I am upgrading the forum software. So please save any posts that you have made since midnight. And if you post today, copy that also. I took a copy of the site around midnight eastern time.

    The document part of the site is problematic. I will work on that after the forums.

    I apologize for the delay, transferring a web server is not something that I have done before.

    Since I haven't upgraded the software in a number of year, it is more difficult.

    I will keep you posted on the progress.

    Thanks again for all the generous support!

  10. Jim RIP

    I haven't talked to him in many years.

    When Greasespot was first started, he was doing a mailing list.

    He fought the good fight for people trying to escape from TWI. We were involved in a project to put up a billboard in New Knoxville. Someone Graffittied within hours after it was put up.

  11. I am helping with putting together some research about a suicide in Traverse City, MI in December, 1984.

    We would love anyone that lived in that area at that time that knows anything about it, to send me an email at pawtucket@greasespotcafe.com.

    The man that committed suicide was David Fear, married and Father of two.

    I appreciate any info you are able to provide and will be kept in the strictest confidence.

  12. I know that I haven't been around much in the past year. I want to thank folks for keeping things going in my absence. Hap, Wordwolf, and Kit among others have been amazing in keeping me updated on the happenings of the forum.

    I had a number of personal things to attend to, including my brother Joe and his health. This week he finally received his double lung transplant. I wrote about it in the prayer forum if you would like details.

    Google cancelled our advertising revenue, they won't give me any details. I have been looking for alternative means of funding.

    I totally missed this year's anniversary, sorry about that.

    Two members (That I know of) of Greasespot have books completed, once I have more details, I will pass them on.

    There is a TV series coming out about Cults. I will post more when I have the info.

    I have a radio show, which I enjoy tremendously -- a life's dream.

    Working on an internet radio station project.

  13. Been a while since I posted here. The past two years have been a roller coaster ride with my Brother's health. But Sunday night, we got the call. Here are some of the details.

    Some of you may know that my brother Joe, is suffering incurable lung disease. He has been on a list for a lung transplant for about 18 months. His is more difficult to match as it is for a double lung transplant. He has been declining in health over the past 18 months. About 4 weeks ago, he was told that if a suitable transplant was not found soon, his body would be too weak to sustain a transplant. His life expectancy was less than a year. At 48 years old, that is devastating news. The weight of that knowledge hangs heavy over the him and his family

    This year he had been called up three times for potential transplants. Two of them, he was the secondary patient, which means if for some reason the primary recipient isn’t right for the transplant, then he would be next in line. Both times he was not chosen. The glimmer of hope was fading. The third incident, it was determined that the lungs were not acceptable for transplant

    By last month, he was on 15 liters of oxygen and his mobility sharply curtailed. Joe, who was always very athletic, was losing hope. Our family constantly tried to be supporting and encouraging

    Sunday night at 8:00pm, he got a call from the hospital. They had a set of lungs. The donor was a healthy young adult who had never smoked. I drove up to Woonsocket and picked him up. I believe that I broke speed limit laws in every community that we passed through. We got to the Route 9 and traffic was at a dead stop. Miraculously, there was a police car a few car lengths ahead of us, I flagged him down and told him of the situation, he contacted the police up ahead and he let us use the breakdown lane to travel. We got through the jam and continued to break speed limit laws. (My sister-in-law will probably never ride with me again as she slid from side to side in the back seat

    We got to the hospital, Brigham and Women’s, a little after 10:00pm. They put him in a room in ER and he began consulting with members of the transplant team. At 11:30pm, Dr Camp, the head of the Transplant Program, came in and consulted. He said that the lungs were a match and very healthy. He was personally flying to give the lungs a final check and then bring them back. Barring anything unforeseen, surgery would begin in two hours at 1:30am Monday

    Joe was somber and quiet. Laurie, his wife, and I just watched as the Transplant team came in one by one meticulously documenting his vital signs; blood work; medical history and other things. By Midnight, he was wheeled into the Operating Room for prep, including injections of medications to prepare his body for the transplant

    Laurie and his daughter, Amanda and myself went to the Thoracic unit to wait. Personnel would update us every so often. At 2:30 am, we were told that the surgery did indeed begin a little after 2:00 am. Dr. Camp had told us to expect about a 12 hour window of surgery

    Around 4:00 am, one of the nurses in the OR, came up to let us know that the surgery was proceeding well. She answered any questions that we had and told us about some things to expect post surgery. He would be in a medically induced coma for about 24 hours. The combinations of meds going through his body would give him temporary amnesia. The steroids would probably affect him in a way that he would have uncontrollable outbursts of anger. But all of these and other syptoms would reverse themselves in a few days

    We got regular updates of “no news is good news

    At 11;00am, a social worker and a nurse came in to announce that the transplant was complete. They were doing a few procedures, including tubes to deliver pain medication. He would be in his room around 1:00pm and after they had him all hooked up, we could visit him around 2:00pm

    At 1:00pm, Dr. Camp came in to talk with us. He said that Joe was in his room and we could visit with him shortly. He gave us a run down of the surgery, including some minor concerns. With all the medication that he was receiving, his face would be very puffy, but that would subside over the next week. During the transfer from the OR to his room, He was breathing on his own with very little assistance!!!! Ultimately, he now had a set of healthy lungs. Well we all burst into tears

    We finally got to see him around 2:30pm. He was still in a medically induced coma. They put him on a ventilator to control his breathing so that the lungs could adjust to his body

    I can’t convey the joy that we all feel at this point.

    Tuesday morning, they took Joe out of his coma. That is when HE found out he had new lungs. Of course, with the pain, and tubes going down his throat and in his neck and in his sides; he was a bit confused. He thought it was Monday morning

    He was sitting up all day. He recognized everyone (temp amnesia is normal the first few days) The tube in his throat was very frustrating. And all the stuff on his arms just added to his frustration. (He's very much a hand talker) But the most obvious thing from my perspective, He was Frustrated; He was Irritated; He was Alive and Well

    All of his vitals were excellent!!! All the blood work was coming back normal. The oxygen levels in his blood were Normal. While he was on a ventilator, it was at the lowest oxygen setting, that means that most of his breathing was unassisted.

    They took the ventilator out in the afternoon. He was very relieved about that. He could now talk and eventually he'll be able to complain, a sure sign that he's getting better. He was hard to understand as his tongue was a bit swollen, but that will change in a few days.

    His pain level was still very high, but normal for this type of surgery.

    He had a lot of visitors, everyone very joyous. Color is returning to his face. Seeing his chest expand and contract with every breath. Wonderful signs of a miraculous event.

    When I got home, I was getting some things out of my back seat. And I noticed the three empty oxygen tanks that he needed for the trip up on Sunday. He's not going to need these any more!!

    Thursday morning, he called to make sure that we bring his electric razor and his cell phone!! Watch out world, He's back.

    He was also up and walking around the ICU. And he was breathing 100% on his own. He is still experiencing pain, but that will heal over the next few weeks

    I want to thank everyone that has been so supportive over the past few years with prayers and encouragement, just know that it was all worth it.

    Joe’s family also thanks you

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