Rusty's Ramblings

[E_T]

I recently had to replace my Clutch Master Cylinder, Clutch Slave Cylinder (both under lifetime warranty) and the Clutch Hydraulic Line (was the only part of this that I had not previously replaced, so full price).  Due to the fact that the routing of the Hydraulic line goes down and around and up and back down and finally goes down as well as the Slave Cylinder bleed valve to be on a lower section of the unit, it make it a major pain in the rumpus to get bleed out.  And with this setup, with ANY air in the system, I can NOT get the clutch to fully disengage and shift gears into either 1st or Reverse.

Fortunately, my Transmission allows for synchronous shifting and I VERY rarely use my clutch (or need to use it) while driving down the road.

So, If I need to use my car, at this time, I have to have the engine off, put into gear and then start it while in gear.  Of course, this does put a strain on my Starter as it needs to not only turn over the engine, but move the car a few feet as well.  Once I get it going, I can shift to a different gear.  And if I come to a stop light, I have to slow early to hopefully time it to were my speed doesn't drop too low to not get back into second.  If It does drop too low, I need to fully stop, turn off engine, put into gear and restart it.

[E_T]

Tornados in Orlando

[Rusty Edge]

Returned from fishing Saturday, but still very busy taking care of stuff that didn't get done the last two weeks. I should be online tonight.

[Rusty Edge]

Let's see. Got one of the veteran blood nurses. He said he understands why they are on my case about donating, but that scheduling three appointments in advance was too much pressure in his opinion. So we only scheduled the next donation.

I haven't rediscovered my interest in organizing, beyond seeing opportunities for improvement. I have been on a weed war against stray dandelions and an infestation of garlic mustard
https://emswcd.org/on-your-land/weeds/weeds-to-know/garlic-mustard/

It's in the woods behind my house.  I have to wear gloves and long sleeves whenever I'm around it, because I seem to be allergic to it. So, no, I'm not going to sautee it.

It looks like we are getting a neighbor in the other side of our duplex, which will lead to a roof replacement. It's currently cedar, and will be replaced with thick asphalt shingles which look like cedar. That means I need to get up on the roof as soon as it's dry and carefully remove the heat cables. Then I get to re-install them on the new roof. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll be weeding again in the morning as the roof dries.

I went to the garden store today to get flowers. Brought home some strawberries, too. To be fair, they are in bloom. I don't like to eat them, but my wife does. Since we seem to be past the full moon frost risk this month, I'm moving my seedlings outside. I've been working mostly with old seed remnants from previous years. Some of it is germinating and some isn't. I'm not sure what all of it is, but when it comes down to it, I'm growing almost all of it for salads and sautee, so it doesn't exactly matter, I'll still eat it. I'm also trying to get some Stokes purple sweet potatoes to sprout, and a Japanese white sweet potato, too.

Things are opening up in the state. The fishing trip may be on.

Well, it seems I did a great job of suppressing the garlic mustard.
Since I have returned I've had lots of energy, although my muscles were sore from sitting in a boat and sleeping on a bad bed. Works better when I use a back massager before I attempt anything.  I got the heating cables off, and they replaced the roof. Still need to put them back on before winter, but I'm waiting for lower temperatures.

Also, I dug up a few wheelbarrow loads of daylilies my neighbor wanted rid of and replanted them in the gaps of a boulder wall separating me from my neighbor on the other side. It's a terrace of sorts, and I'm on the downhill side. Anyway, the daylilies should suppress the tree and dandelion seedlings which try to grow there. Looks nice, too.

I've got my hydroponic system up and running. I think this ex-farmer is a convert. The tower is working nicely, although it seems to need water more often than they suggest now that the plants are bigger. I guess it stands to reason.
I've got both the Stokes purple sweet potatoes and the Japanese sweet potatoes growing well.

Somebody asked me if I was going to maintain the trail between our subdivision and the nearby park this year. I said I'd add it to my list.  I trimmed the invasive buckthorn on one side, so you can walk without being scratched or hunched over.  Then I hauled a couple loads of tree mulch and spread it on the path. The leafy part of the mulch had heated and molded. So maybe it's sinus infection and back ache from moving sacks of wet mulch. The night after I did it I couldn't sleep very well, woke up every half hour or so with headache and back & body pain. The following day I was miserable all day. Today I feel much better, but I have a fever. Sinus infections are commonplace for me, but fevers are not.

So... canceled my blood donation and other plans, and scheduled a covid test. Staying in.

[E_T]

Let us know how things go

[Rusty Edge]

I'm feeling much better.
I am coughing up phlegm drained from my sinuses. No fever. We had 3 inches of rain last night. I know that's not a big deal in Florida where it's flat and sandy, but here it's clay and sloped. I wouldn't be surprised if much of the mulch had washed off of the path.

The blood center is calling me already. They urgently need my blood for treating sickle cell anemia patients. I said I cancelled because I had a fever two days ago. They still wanted me to come in if my temp was normal, and were offering gift cards as an incentive. I explained that I'd scheduled a coronavirus test, and I'd get back to  them when I had results, or they could get back to me.

I guess the blood center tests the donated blood  for coronavirus, so probably not an issue.

[E_T]

hopefully, but if they need it that badly, they might just let it through.  Thing is, would they get back with you faster with the results than the brain scrub would?  or best to get two Negatives?

[Rusty Edge]

They probably need it badly. I got two e-mails today besides the phone call. One was a standard "you're eligible to give again".
The other was about the critical need for my sub-type for treating sickle cell anemia, and the scarcity of it. I followed a link and discovered that they don't test donors ( that I knew ) or donations ( I  thought the opposite ) , as they believe that it is not transmitted through blood donations ( yeah  right, that's what they thought about AIDS at first, until people with bleeding disorders started dying like flies. Oops. ).

That seems wrong-headed to me, as my current understanding of the disease is that it attacks the cardio-vascular system, and that micro-clots in the lungs are usually the thing that sends people to the E.R. We think of it as a respiratory virus because of that, but that is not it's nature. Oh well, tomorrow I get tested. I'm interested to find out how long it takes to get results. I'm predicting Monday. We'll see.

I'm figure it's simply breathing mold/sinus infection and back/shoulder ache because I'm back to normal temp and pain free today. BUT, I'm going to exercise the same care to be sure I'm healthy that I would expect of others if I were in need of a transfusion.

[Rusty Edge]

P.S. - Since my dog was crying to go to the park, and I hadn't taken her in the last couple of days, I picked a time in the heat of the afternoon unlikely for others to be there.  We had it to ourselves and the mulch was still in place, much to my surprise.

[Geo]

I'm figure it's simply breathing mold/sinus infection and back/shoulder ache because I'm back to normal temp and pain free today. BUT, I'm going to exercise the same care to be sure I'm healthy that I would expect of others if I were in need of a transfusion.

Yeah, take care, Rusty.

P.S. - Since my dog was crying to go to the park, and I hadn't taken her in the last couple of days, I picked a time in the heat of the afternoon unlikely for others to be there.  We had it to ourselves and the mulch was still in place, much to my surprise.

So, was it easy to lure her back home? I can imagine lots of frolicking went on at the park.

[Rusty Edge]

I should update.

Got my e-mail confirmation and text reminder. Went to the CVS pharmacy drive through testing lane for my free test at the scheduled time. ( they only do drive through testing, as signs and PDFs had made clear I WAS NOT TO GO IN THE BUILDING) Maybe a 10 minute delay for me to get to the front, as there was another car ahead of me.

They asked me if I wanted a test, had an appointment, what was my name, what time, etc. Well, I wasn't on their list. They said I had to schedule through CVS.com, not Minute Clinic.  So I went home, printed off my confirmation e-mail which clearly said Minute Clinic@ CVS.com  Drive through corona virus testing appointment. I went back, had to hold the paper up close to her window. She made a couple phone calls and talked to the pharmacist. Then she tried to explain things to me, only she was intercoming to the guy in the prescription lane , and I could see her talking and looking at me, so I yelled that I couldn't hear her and the other guy suggested she was talking to the wrong person.

"This has never happened before. You're not in our system. I called the Minute Clinic nurse and you're not in her system, either. This has never happened before! We don't make appointments. You'll have to call this number to get an appointment" and gave me a slip of paper, which was the standard paper they give you to set up MyChart to get the test results ( which would have taken an estimated 4 days IF I had been tested. As it was they didn't have a test kit assigned to me without an appointment. )

So I went home again, my wife talked to the pharmacist and got the run-around, negotiated the voicemail maze at MyChart  only to get hung up on. Tried to schedule a new appointment at another pharmacy, but the system crashed during the process.

I feel normal and have no temperature.    Maybe I don't really need a test.
"Anybody who wants a test can get a test"- Donald [Sleezebag].

[E_T]

we have so much testing....

[E_T]

Man, hope you get it cleared up soon.   Dang...

[Rusty Edge]

So my wife has tried to set up an appointment for me again. A couple of times. Different places.

The program insists on knowing my race and state that I live in. They were pull down windows, but all she could see was the word "select".    So, with those two boxes blank, the form couldn't complete.  So, as of now, no appointment. Meanwhile, the wait to get one is getting longer.

Today's temp- 98.0  I'm not worried about my situation. I feel normal again.
I am concerned about how difficult it is for somebody with a headache, body aches and a fever to get a test in a timely fashion. Same goes for results, which are backlogged.

[Geo]

Over here, if you think you have symptoms, you're supposed to contact your doctor who decides to do a house visit for a test or puts you immediately in quarantaine.
There are (or rather, were) alot of people who came to the doctors' office anyway, and those were I assume tested on the spot. I know at my doctor's office patients with symptoms were imediately ushered to a separate waiting room.