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Pool Dudes, Yard Dudes, Irrigation Dudes…Great Guys

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Y’day I was bellyaching here about the calcium build-up on the pool’s tilework. Figured to have to call Swimming Pool Service & Repair, an outfit whose service prices hover in the outer regions of the stratosphere. Long about evening, I jump in the drink to cool off. Paddle around. And discover…Lo!

Pool Dude, having visited Monday morning. has somehow removed ALL that stuck-on calcium!!!

How, I cannot imagine. For me to remove it, I have to take a paint scraper to it. He sure didn’t do that. Must be some kind of chemical that melts it off. Acid?

Didn’t test the water, ’cause I didn’t want to be scared off from swimming. It’s hotter than the Hubs here, and humid clouds are building up.

Meanwile, Irrigation Dude has fixed the busted sprinkler head, the one that was dousing the front window with Niagara Falls. The system is now working normally. Bless’im!

The Yard Dudes have, incredibly, kept the alley’s weed growth under control behind the backyard wall. Directly across the alley, the weeds are up to your fanny along the Kids’ wall. What a mess! And, might add, what a fine fire hazard.

Ugh. This damn covid really takes it out of you!

It’s only 8:30 in the morning, and I am gonna hafta go back to sleep. True: Ruby and I were up at 5;30. Slammed out the daily walk not only before the heat came up but before most of the morning commuters were up. I suppose that’s not bad for a human that’s halfway to Death’s Door. But the upshot is, I’m so tired I can barely function.

Covid and Our Pets: How scared, really, should we be?

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Got a referral to a pool guy who cleans tiles — mine now being encrusted with lime. When he learned that I’ve tested positive for the Dread Disease, he announced that he wouldn’t come anywhere near the place.

This, frankly, seems reasonable, especially if you have a pre-existing condition of one sort or another.

But his moment of terror led me to wonder…how scared, really, should we be of catching Covid from our livestock?

And…can I give Covid to Ruby? Can she give it to me…or to other humans?

Well, the obvious answer is that this is a damned uncomfortable ailment, even in its milder form, which apparently is what I’m enjoying just now. So, yes: it does behoove us to avoid discomfort — of any kind, particularly of the variety that lays you out in bed.

But…

The truth is…it would appear that unless you’re elderly or you have a pre-existing condition, the bug is unlikely to kill you. And it also would appear that yes, contagion between humans and dogs and between dogs and humans is not only possible but fairly common.

Here’s our source:

Anna Csiszar, et al. “Companion animals likely do not spread COVID-19 but may get infected themselves.” 2020 Oct; 42(5): 1229–1236. Published online 2020 Aug 7. doi: 10.1007/s11357-020-00248-3

These authors find that domestic pets, even in First-World countries, are vectors of the disease. However, they regard the risk as rather low: “”Actually, there is no evidence for a single case of pet to human transmission to date.” (Bear in mind the article’s publication date, though.)

More currently, the CDC tells us that

  • The virus that causes COVID-19 can spread from people to animals during close contact.
  • The risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is low.
  • Pets can get serious illness from infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, but this is extremely rare.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/covid-19/pets.html

Hmm… Okay. Even though we’re advised not to let our critters sleep on the bed with us (hah! Good luck with that!!), the chance of a dog or cat catching the bug from us exists but is low; serious Covid illness in your pets is unlikely.

Interesting….

 

Odders and Enders

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The adorable Pool Dude surfaced (heh!) with the sun this morning. Ruby SOOOO adores that man! Instantaneously she knew he was out back, and so it was OUT THE DOOR, the better to love him up.

He’s a…distinctive-looking fella. Has a frizzy, light-brown beard that he wears halfway down his chest. This, IMHO — and certainly in Ruby’s opinion — does not make him any less adorable. He’s just one of the sweetest guys you’d ever hope to meet, and nothing about his sartorial taste changes that.

Almost 9 a.m., and I’m coughing my guts out. Just ran out of Robitussin, so I now I have to trudge down to the store and buy another bottle of it. Or two…

The ‘Hood is adorned with shopping centers north and south along Conduit of Blight. With the exception of the Sprouts, most of these contain stores I avoid, because of the crowds of derelicts and panhandlers. I REALLY do not like to be hustled!

But…the AJ’s is way to Hell & Gone down on Camelback Road, and getting there entails a trek through rush-hour traffic. The Safeway, adorning the neighborhood where DXH and I lived (to the east and the south of the ‘Hood), requires two left turns across homicidal thoroughfares. Half the time they don’t have what you want. Granted, there’s a Walgreen’s across the seven-lane street (another left turn!) ….but really. Covid-smacked as I am, I would prefer to drive to ONE store, even if one with considerable, daunting drawbacks, than to Store 1 (nope: no cough medicine), Store 2 (nope), Store 3…and on and on. The Albertson’s at Blight and Main Drag South will have the gunk, and if they don’t, the Walgreen’s right across the street will.

Despite the nasty hack (which was expected), I’m actually feeling noticeably better (which was not expected). That’s not to say I feel good….but, surprisingly enough, I’m not utterly out of it. At least not yet.  And I think I’ve had this thing long enough to be feeling really, really sh!tty, if that’s what’s gonna happen.

A-a-a-n-d…that’s probably one reason (if not THE reason) this damn thing is spreading far and wide. People tend to power on through “just a little cold” — and nevvermind that whoever you infect with your “little cold” could end up flat on their back or even in the hospital. And of course, every time they tromp around in public when they’re sick, they disperse their germs far and wide.

No kidding. I picked up a really fine bug from some nitwit who showed up at choir practice, stood behind me, and coughed on the back of my neck through the entire three hours. People are so stupid…I know the public schools teach the basic facts of infection and contagion, because I remember reading those facts in our biology text. I guess if it’s a fact that doesn’t fit their convenience, though, they just put it out of their mind.

Welp! It’s after 9 a.m. Better go out and spread a few germs of my own…

 

 

Some People Are Too Nice!

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To lay a little more frosting on the cake, the irrigation system sprang a leak. In front. Right next to the front bedroom window, soaking the window, the nylon screening, and the wall every morning as the water came on. Argh!

So I called the irrigation guy, who made some time in his afternoon to come over and fix the darn thing. Didn’t look very hard…but you needed the part and you needed to know what to do with it.

As we chatted about…what? Everything!…

• Our kids
• Our families
• Our pets
• Floating down the Salt River
• Living in Arizona
• Life
• The Universe
• And all that…

…I thought what a nice man!

If I were a guy… I think I might prefer a hands-on craftsman’s job to a desk job where you’re parked in front of a brain-banging computer all day. Maybe that contributes to his cheerful and pleasant nature.

But…hmmm…

Maybe not. It would depend on whether you could make a genuinely living wage in the crafts. He probably does — the guy charged $100 for the house call. Yes: from my point of view, cringe-worthy….but cheaper than eventually having to replace the window frame and screen. And for sure, there was no way I could fix that irrigation thingie.

From my point of view, he saved me a lot of aggravation (at least) and eliminated any further damage from spraying water.

From his point of view, he made $100 for an hour of his time.

That’s as much as my fancy lawyer ex-husband made! And for sure, a corporate lawyer doesn’t make small talk about the kids and whatnot while he’s engaged with contract law.

Y’know, it strikes me that some (not all) of the craft jobs could very well be better gigs, career-wise, than lawyering. Pay is certainly adequate — possibly comparable.  You’re not stuck in an office all day and then some. Most of these guys — Irrigation Dude is one of them — limit their work days to Monday through Friday and their work hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. While it’s true you’d be driving through the crazy-making traffic all day, still…you wouldn’t have…

• firm meetings
• crazy partners
• political correctness
• crooked clients
• judges to deal with
• politicians to deal with
• office politics
• stress intense enough to make you sick

How is that better than filling your days installing, maintaining, and repairing irrigation systems? Or building furniture? Or painting houses?

Maybe, just maybe…it’s not.

 

Booted Out of Facebook :o(

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Huh! Lookit this! And what d’you think? Covid brain fog, or senility?

Actually, this morning I was back in to FB, as normal as before. Now, along about 3 p.m., it boots me out again: for no discernible reason.

I see there’s some kind of FB help line. I would be EXTREMELY surprised if one could reach a human being there. Facebook is one of the most faceless organizations I’ve come across…in an era of faceless organizations. But what the heck. I’ll try. Maybe.

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Facebook has suddenly decided it won’t accept my password. I’ve tried three times to get back in. Three times they’ve sent me a numeric code to get in and create a new p/w. Three times the numeric code has failed.

So I guess I must have offended. Apparently I’m locked out.

Well. Screw them, eh?

Seriously: a lot of people don’t like me. Ever has it been thus, since I was a kid in grade school. What it is about me that sets people off, I have no idea. Consequently I have no way to fix it. But…it’s a fact of life. Somebody probably complained about something I said…and that was the end of me!

Too bad. I enjoyed putzing around online with folks I know. But WTF. I’ve always been a loner, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.

Plus it’s that much more motivation to go down to the Cathedral, try to reconnect with choir members who’ve drifted down there, and see if I can get on the choir there. Or not.

Moving on...and on…and on….

Eff Facebook!

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Well, that was charming.

All of a sudden — for no reason that I could discern — Facebook decided I was not allowed in. My password did not work.

THREE TIMES did I jump through hoop after hoop to get their effing machine to send me a new temporary password. THREE TIMES the damn thing didn’t work, or when I did get in and attempted to create a new password for myself, it didn’t work.

So. I guess I’m permanently off of Facebook

That’s probably a good thing, actually. One fewer way to waste time.

And waste time I do: copiously. Mostly on this dayum computer. Really: I’ve blown the entire day sitting here in front of this thing. Watered a few plants, entered some data in Excel, and…and…that was it.

What else could I have done?

  • It’s after 9 p.m. The sidewalks have no doubt cooled enough for Ruby to walk on them. She and I could have gone a mile by now. Or even two.
  • It’s still plenty hot out there, though. I could have jumped in the pool and got this chunk of exercise by swimming.
  • I could have written a blog post. 😀
  • I could have started working on the proposed project to record my father’s family history.

How is this a disaster?

Not exactly a disaster, but a real inconvenience. The neighborhood organization has a Facebook page where they post frequently and cogently. Not being able to see and participate in that puts me on the outside. And that does pi$$ me off royally.

And I use(d) Facebook to plug new posts as they appear here at Funny. Anyone else who would like to do that now is welcome to do so!

So the Hell What?

Good question. I do have another computer and may be able to log in on that. Probably not, after the flap I’ve made trying to get in from the laptop. But it’s worth a try.

Later.