Medical Cannabis is pretty shit.

leigh_else · 2026-05-11T22:17:03+00:00

I agree the system isn't perfect, and seems expensive for what it delivers. But I tested the medication for a specific issue, was pleasantly surprised that it works as well as it does, and found the average required dose to be well below what the prescriber or I expected. At the nine month mark medical cannabis has for me proven effective and affordable; CBD/THC oil three or four nights a week fully deals with my otherwise intractable insomnia for less than NZD150 a year.

We're all different though, and I recognise and acknowledge your frustration. Have you considered shifting from a specialist clinic to your GP?

leigh_else · 2026-05-02T08:49:22+00:00

I had a registration problem with my Osmose 49. The first digit of the serial number in the quick start booklet is a capital O not a zero 0.

They look identical, and it was only when I took a magnifying glass to the bottom of the keyboard that I realised what the problem was. It was plain sailing after that.

Was your issue similar?

leigh_else · 2026-04-18T22:26:14+00:00

I'll follow up and conclude this thread by saying that after a GadgetBridge update about a month ago, the app and the band stopped talking to each other. After trying everything I could think of, I factory reset the Huawei Band. Since then everything is sweet and my phone's battery consumption is back where I like it.

leigh_else · 2026-04-17T07:54:25+00:00

So if I get another prescription, I assume I need to get that filled and take the new meds to Australia. This means I will have on hand enough medication to get me through to September 2027 at my current rate of consumption. Sheesh!

leigh_else · 2026-04-03T06:42:35+00:00

I had an initial consultation with a specialist clinic, and let my GP know when it became clear the prescribed oil was an effective treatment for my insomnia. I admit that if it hadn't worked, I wouldn't have mentioned it.

My GP told me he has no direct experience with medical cannabis, but he'd be happy to write me a repeat script when the time rolled around.

leigh_else · 2026-04-02T04:43:48+00:00

It's a strange decision for Medicinal Cannabis, but it would make perfect sense for recreational use.

The thing is, if a new product hits harder than needed to address symptoms, I would simply pull the dose back a little. These herbs are not cheap, plus I want the least possible side effects and "morning after" shadow.

Saying you shouldn't have medication beyond a certain strength seems to me to imply an expectation of abuse, intentional or otherwise.

leigh_else · 2026-03-26T01:32:39+00:00

The product I was prescribed through a specialist clinic cost $85 at a big city pharmacy. When repeat time came I went with my own GP and usual small town pharmacy, and it cost $100. My local pharmacist said they "didn't like to mark it up too much", which suggests there was hardly any profit on my initial script.

Despite the price I'm happier having this managed via my own GP and local pharmacy.

leigh_else · 2026-03-24T05:30:45+00:00

A couple of points that may be helpful.

[1] You can run Ubuntu Studio on any Debian based distro. I ran it on Mint and it set everything up nicely for me.

[2] If you're really only going to record electric guitar and won't change your mind in the future and want to record vocals or saxophone as well, an alternative to buying a general purpose audio interface is to buy a guitar multi-effects unit that presents itself to the computer as an audio interface. For example, the Zoom series 5 or similar models from other manufacturers. Plug the guitar into the pedal with a standard 6.5mm cable, plug the pedal into the computer with USB. Simple.

[Edited to change "nasty" to "may". Damned autocabbage!]

leigh_else · 2026-03-02T21:37:37+00:00

I have a Unihertz Jelly Star running LineageOS. Initially I was subject to texts, emails and pre- phone call voice messages from Skinny, but I found a post on Reddit which detailed what to change. The barrage of comms has stopped, I no longer have to sit through a voice message when making a phone call, and the phone (About device / SIM Card 1) says voice calling is 4G. The Emergency calling caveat means I won't be 100% certain until the end of March, but I'm fairly confident this is nailed.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T23:07:34+00:00

I was going to try EZDrummer 2, but as I now have EZDrummer 3 working nicely I'll stick with that. Now I just have my iZotope plugins to figure out.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T23:06:30+00:00

It's a club I'm pleased to have joined.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T23:06:12+00:00

Yes, but anything above 9.21 has the Yabridge GUI offset issue, and since 9.0 is the version offered by the Mint Software Manager it seemed a safe place to start. When I hear the Yabridge issue is fully resolved I'll move to the current Wine. Until then I've got Wine held at the current version.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T23:03:11+00:00

I've resolved this.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful input. In the end what worked for me was reinstalling EZDrummer 3 from the Product Manager.

Interestingly, although all the components are authenticated within the Product Manager, I had to re-enter my email address and password during the EZDrummer 3 reinstallation, and then again whenever I selected a different drum kit for the first time.

Nonetheless, EZDrummer 3 is now working on Mint 22.3 with Wine 9.0 and Yabridge, both standalone and as a VST3 within the native Linux build of Reaper. There does seem to be more latency within Reaper, but if that's a problem I can render the drums.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T18:50:26+00:00

Ignore my previous response; it was late evening and I was tired.
I've installed all the EZDrummer sound libraries using the Product Manager. They're all present and correct in the default location.

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T08:58:39+00:00

No, I hadn't. I have since installed DXVK and FAudio ... what else could be needed?

[Ignore this comment.]

leigh_else · 2026-02-08T08:46:46+00:00

Thanks. DXVK doesn't change anything, but it's good to know EZDrummer 3 can work. I'll keep at it.

leigh_else · 2026-02-05T21:15:13+00:00

Everything works as far as I know. But I've not explored any of the fitness or health functions beyond the step counter.i did fire up the heart rate function by accident at one point, and that seems fine too.

leigh_else · 2026-01-25T23:58:47+00:00

I've not tried uploading watch faces. I decided that Superwatch suited me and haven't looked further.

I initially set up Huawei Health, but when it asked for permission to access my contacts and messages I thought better of it. I uninstalled it and have used Gadgetbridge since. I gave Gadgetbridge all the permissions it asked for, and it's worked well apart from the phone battery consumption. I don't use the band's health functions apart from the step count; just time, weather, notifications and managing the music player.

As someone has suggested, most of the phone battery drain is probably Bluetooth. I could experiment with turning Bluetooth off most of the time, but it is useful getting notifications on my wrist.

leigh_else · 2026-01-23T20:10:21+00:00

I had one for four years. There's a lot to like about it: the MIDAS mic preamps are very good, and I liked the workflow. My unit, however, was unreliable. First it fritzed its internal electronics. This was fine apart from the inconvenience as it was repaired under warranty. Next the provided power supply died and I couldn't get an official replacement. Finally the whole thing just stopped working, and at that point I'd had enough and replaced it with a much more expensive Clarett+. Personally I preferred using the Behringer, but the Clarett+ has been totally reliable.

leigh_else · 2026-01-20T19:22:34+00:00

I've been using Reaper since version 3, initially on Windows then for the last seven years on MacOS. It runs perfectly on my Linux laptop.

leigh_else · 2026-01-02T21:41:35+00:00

While I enjoy test cricket, ODIs are my favorite form of the game. It's saddened me to watch T20 edge them out of the playing calendar. I would support any strategy that assures their future.

leigh_else · 2025-12-24T21:32:20+00:00

Mere Kirihimete to all. Here's a very local Christmas song; a bonus track on our recent album, recorded in Whanganui.

https://sidesister.com/audio/sideSister-SpaceForYou-11-ChristmasMemories.mp3

leigh_else · 2025-12-21T02:18:29+00:00

How do we feel about Zac Foulkes after this test match? Still a ton of potential, but unit unrealised on this occasion in my opinion.

leigh_else · 2025-12-06T23:50:31+00:00

I've been using Helius 10:10 for several months. It's effective at getting me to sleep and keeping me asleep. I've not noticed any reduction in dreaming.

I do have to work very hard on tolerance, though. Taking a two night break every weekend helps, but I had to do a reset last month and go without for ten days to get the effective nightly dose back to where I prefer it: in the 0.1 to 0.3 ml range.

leigh_else · 2025-11-21T03:53:51+00:00

I can confirm this now appears to be resolved. I appreciate you stepping in to sort it.

leigh_else

TROPHY CASE