[BUG] - Clean up the warnings in the Visual Studio build

[jamespilgrim]

Describe the bug
When compiling in Visual Studio, the many sloppy parts of the code base generate dozens of warnings. Mostly type-casting warnings.

To Reproduce (if not obvious:)
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
Compile on VS!

Expected behavior
Should have no warnings at all.

Screenshots

Environment (e.g., Pi 1, Pi 2, Webapp, Visual Studio, etc.):
Visual Studio

Additional context
The real answer would be to make the types we use better matched to the method and data requirements, but that's a lot more work. Later...