Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[Matthew Strongin]

In the big scheme of things this is pretty small and manageable, but since it's officially Thursday...following two months of being sick and lingering cough and congestion issues, my doctor recommended I get some allergy screens done. I only tested positive for just a single allergy. Oak pollen. In a cruel twist of fate, the only significant trees on my property and my neighbor's across the street are oaks. Every time I come or go from my house I'm awash in the only thing I'm allergic to. Sweet. On the bright side, the flonase+zyrtec cocktail I'm on has me functioning like a human again.

[Mr B]

Same thing happened to me and my 2013 Outback. A year later, we got hit with a hard freeze. Got in my car and drove to work. Sat in my car with the heater on and all of a sudden the chip became a 6" crack. Then 8...then 2'. I watched it grow and grow. Now it's huge. I'm scared to replace it because I've always heard horror stories about replacement windshields.

If the car's still under warranty (being a 2013, it would be, wouldn't it?), there's less reason to worry. Have the dealership replace the screen, so that any follow-up issues are down to them and should be covered under your warranty.

[nrs5000]

Same thing happened to me and my 2013 Outback. A year later, we got hit with a hard freeze. Got in my car and drove to work. Sat in my car with the heater on and all of a sudden the chip became a 6" crack. Then 8...then 2'. I watched it grow and grow. Now it's huge. I'm scared to replace it because I've always heard horror stories about replacement windshields.

The replacement windshield I got from one of those mobile auto glass services has been problem free for way longer than my Subaru OEM unit was on my '06.

[defspace]

Same thing happened to me and my 2013 Outback. A year later, we got hit with a hard freeze. Got in my car and drove to work. Sat in my car with the heater on and all of a sudden the chip became a 6" crack. Then 8...then 2'. I watched it grow and grow. Now it's huge. I'm scared to replace it because I've always heard horror stories about replacement windshields.

'08 outback here. Dime sized chip. It's only been there for a month or so. You guys are making me paranoid.

Related grump: she makes all sorts of high pitched whistling and whirring noises now. They're actually sort of cool sounds - multiple rising and falling pitches, sometimes harmonizing. They seem to come from the passenger side of the engine bay. Check engine light is off. Everything works fine, I'm just worried this is indicative of some incipient catastrophe. It sounds like I'm driving to work in the Millennium Falcon.

[dogrange]

In the big scheme of things this is pretty small and manageable, but since it's officially Thursday...following two months of being sick and lingering cough and congestion issues, my doctor recommended I get some allergy screens done. I only tested positive for just a single allergy. Oak pollen. In a cruel twist of fate, the only significant trees on my property and my neighbor's across the street are oaks. Every time I come or go from my house I'm awash in the only thing I'm allergic to. Sweet. On the bright side, the flonase+zyrtec cocktail I'm on has me functioning like a human again.

Dude, this is yr shot to get some steroids, maybe some speed, all under TUE. Just sayin' . . . .

[dashDustin]

If the car's still under warranty (being a 2013, it would be, wouldn't it?), there's less reason to worry. Have the dealership replace the screen, so that any follow-up issues are down to them and should be covered under your warranty.

Not sure, I just rolled 60k miles.

my grump for the day, ignoring my real grump, and relating to warranty issues with car -

When I buy a vehicle, the radio HAS to be iPod/ iPhone ready. I hate radio. All radio. It bugs me. Car has to be able to hook up to an iPod or iPhone via cable.

The USB port that hooks up to my radio seemingly has died. Of course it doesn't happen when I'm driving, but when my wife takes my car out. All other powered ports in the center console get power, but the USB port. I'm hoping it's a fuse.

[nahtnoj]

Visited the neurosurgeon yesterday. My wife is experiencing increasing symptoms over the past few months. A surgery Dr. H recommended avoiding for as long as possible in December he is now pretty adamant about. June 2nd.

[j44ke]

In the big scheme of things this is pretty small and manageable, but since it's officially Thursday...following two months of being sick and lingering cough and congestion issues, my doctor recommended I get some allergy screens done. I only tested positive for just a single allergy. Oak pollen. In a cruel twist of fate, the only significant trees on my property and my neighbor's across the street are oaks. Every time I come or go from my house I'm awash in the only thing I'm allergic to. Sweet. On the bright side, the flonase+zyrtec cocktail I'm on has me functioning like a human again.

Those allergy patch test things are a racket. There is no way that 1.) they can test for all things that are possible allergens for you and 2.) they most accurately test for things that you are allergic to in a patch test but perhaps not in the outside world. The reason they are given so often is that they 1.) are covered by insurance in their approved standardized form and 2.) result in a pretty high number of people who end up coming to the allergist for shots on a regular basis.

In other words, you could be allergic to oak or you could be allergic to being stabbed by an oak but mostly probably allergic to mold and an infinite number of airborne particles, your allergies to which are exacerbated to the nth degree by the incredible amount of car exhaust particulate & tire rubber floating around the world because there are just too damn many cars blowing crap out their tailpipes while parked on an interstate on their way to the allergist.

That's my rant. Hand me another claritin.

[j44ke]

Visited the neurosurgeon yesterday. My wife is experiencing increasing symptoms over the past few months. A surgery Dr. H recommended avoiding for as long as possible in December he is now pretty adamant about. June 2nd.

Ugh. Forza interiore eh? Strength to both of you.

[Matthew Strongin]

Those allergy patch test things are a racket. There is no way that 1.) they can test for all things that are possible allergens for you and 2.) they most accurately test for things that you are allergic to in a patch test but perhaps not in the outside world. The reason they are given so often is that they 1.) are covered by insurance in their approved standardized form and 2.) result in a pretty high number of people who end up coming to the allergist for shots on a regular basis.

In other words, you could be allergic to oak or you could be allergic to being stabbed by an oak but mostly probably allergic to mold and an infinite number of airborne particles, your allergies to which are exacerbated to the nth degree by the incredible amount of car exhaust particulate & tire rubber floating around the world because there are just too damn many cars blowing crap out their tailpipes while parked on an interstate on their way to the allergist.

That's my rant. Hand me another claritin.

It was a blood test, but I hear you. Really I think I'm just allergic to living in Miami and not living in Nellysford. And, for the record, I'm definitely allergic to being stabbed by an oak tree. Ouch.

[Jonathan]

Those allergy patch test things are a racket.

Having some experience with immunology/Allergy in a short period of time I agree, or maybe I'd just say it's the result of the business of modern medicine. I had three allergy tests within a year and they ranged from one Doc saying .."you're not allergic to anything everyone else isn't allergic to" to one doc saying I was highly Allergic to everything tested. Same tests, same result of same sized red bumps as far as I could tell. My current Immunologist came down in the middle. I went with the weekly allergy shots just to see if they'd help my asthma. They haven't. Like all weird things with my body, Being immunodefficient means I don't make a normal immune response. My current immunologist is the only immunologist I've seen who does actual immunology, most just run allergy shot practices imho. If there is a practitioner here who has an opinion from the other side I'd be interested in hearing that but for now I think allergy is largely a business about weekly cash flow

[David Tollefson]

Well, at least I have an answer on my car. VW dealer threw up their hands and admitted ignorance, so it's off to another shop which diagnosed a head gasket issue on Monday. Said it would be late this week. No word since.

And my wife is starting up the call-center seasonal job at REI again. Which put her in training this week. We'd made child care arrangements with one of the MOPS moms to watch my daughter. Problem -- her child was sick Monday and Tuesday. Which meant I got to work at 3am so I could leave by 1 and get home to do kid duty while my wife went to training. We took one more day as a precaution, because the kid was "getting over it." Good thing we did, because now the mom has it. Bad part -- that sprung on me today, and I didn't get to work early enough to make up a full day and leave by 1. So not only am I losing time today, I'm just going to burn a vacation day tomorrow so I can sleep.

Yeah, first world problems...

[j44ke]

Having some experience with immunology/Allergy in a short period of time I agree, or maybe I'd just say it's the result of the business of modern medicine. I had three allergy tests within a year and they ranged from one Doc saying .."you're not allergic to anything everyone else isn't allergic to" to one doc saying I was highly Allergic to everything tested. Same tests, same result of same sized red bumps as far as I could tell. My current Immunologist came down in the middle. I went with the weekly allergy shots just to see if they'd help my asthma. They haven't. Like all weird things with my body, Being immunodefficient means I don't make a normal immune response. My current immunologist is the only immunologist I've seen who does actual immunology, most just run allergy shot practices imho. If there is a practitioner here who has an opinion from the other side I'd be interested in hearing that but for now I think allergy is largely a business about weekly cash flow

My wife had a terrible problem with her skin on her face, and she went through several allergist/dermatologists/immunologists who did generally the same battery of tests and decided she had an intolerance for any number of things that had no impact on her condition when treated. Then our primary care doctor referred her to someone she went to med school with who is now a research physician with a parallel practice in skin problems. A trip to his waiting room is enough to convince anyone they really don't have it so bad. I met a little girl whose skin was so traumatized she was in danger of losing her eyelids. Heartbreaking. But he designs all his own tests, so of course insurance won't pay for a stitch of it because they are not tested. His tests are based on things that people frequently come in contact with but are not typically thought of as allergens. Not the standard boxed set test. When my wife went back to have the test read, he picked out three that looked like legitimate reactions - one was lanolin, another was shellac and another was mint. My wife was using Eucerin, a very commonly prescribed skin restoring cream, and Eucerin is full of lanolin. Every time her skin flared up, she put on Eucerin, which made things worse, so she put on Eucerin, etc. Because her eyes often teared, she was using waterproof cosmetics around her eyes. Shellac makes cosmetics waterproof. Nice huh? And most of toothpastes have mint in them, and if you brush your teeth just before you go to bed, then you inevitably drool a bit on your pillowcase. That causes the area around your mouth to react and turns your pillow case into an irritant. So she stopped using Eucerin, got rid of all shellac-based waterproof cosmetics and stopped using any product with mint derivatives (btw check how many chamois creams have both lanolin and mint/menthol in them) and now she is fine. These are all sensitivities that develop over time through near constant exposure. The kicker is that since insurance wouldn't cover any of this doctor's work, our bill was in the 5 figures. Worth it, but holy smokes, talk about medical care inequality. The only reason that little girl could afford to be there was because the doctor has a grant writer on staff working to make sure he can take some patients for free.

I have no idea how to change this, but it pisses me off.

[Jonathan]

I have no idea how to change this, but it pisses me off.

Even if you do, don't say it out loud. Somebody will not be happy.

[ericpmoss]

Even if you do, don't say it out loud. Somebody will not be happy.

Email and/or call The People's Pharmacy, an NPR show out of WUNC. They would be very interested in this, I think. They have many listeners who find themselves not well served by what insurance companies cover.

[defspace]

I'm gonna grump a bit.
This happened on Thursday, so I'm gonna pretend it counts for a GYGOT.

I got dropped from a local training crit, from a field I should have had no problem hanging with. I wouldn't expect to make the break (I could have told you in October who'd make the break), but I'd expect to at least be able to roll around in the peloton.

I want to blame something other than myself. I have this stupid voice in the back of my head that says that my handlebars are the problem. How stupid is that? Who gets dropped because of the handlebar they're using? I know it's only because I have an extra set of take-off handlebars in the garage. Switching out bars would just make me feel like I'm doing something about it. So stupid. I'm just looking for a problem to blame it on.

I get it, I was off the bike for too long - illness, etc... I'm just plain out of form. AND IT'S CHAPPING MY ASS. There's nothing to do about it but put my head down and hit that lap button on the Garmin.

Pushups? How's 'bout I go and hit some intervals like they owe me money?

[Matthew Strongin]

Pushups? How's 'bout I go and hit some intervals like they owe me money?

Turning yourself inside out is good penance and good for the soul. It'll resolve your core issue as well. Get on it!

[MMM]

Steam boiler failed this week dumping about 30 gallons of water in my (unfinished) basement. Could have been worse, but would have been nice if it would have lasted the heating season (mid-May). Temps down to 18F Tuesday. Boiler was at least 35yrs old, so it was expected.

I think the worst part is deciding to get rid of steam heat and window AC units and install a modern central HVAC system ... oh and choosing a contractor.

[zetroc]

3 people leaving the company - 2 this week, 1 at an unspecified date but coming up soon. One of them is somebody I've been training to help lighten my workload for the last three years. Back to square one.

[NYCfixie]

I don't normally read yours either.

I was in Newark for all of about 12 hours and was kept awake by the constant departures off rwy 22L. Our hotel is right off the departure end of that runway and it was noisy most of the night. But I did get to enjoy the delightful cuisine at yet another Ruby Tuesday. If I never eat at another Ruby Tuesday in my life my life will have been a richer life......

We don't spend long at most of our layovers, thankfully.

No pushups bitches, I rode twice today. Once on the Giant and once on the Zanconato.

PM me next time you are headed to EWR. I am 8 miles away (20 minutes without traffic) and would be happy to shuttle you to better places to eat/hang:
Hat City Kitchen
Ricalton's Village Tavern
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Newark | Voted Best BBQ