Mold, Mildew, and Fungus Among Us

This is more of a report on unpleasant surroundings and an exploration of potential dangers, research, that is, than an actual complaint. The immediate environment I just moved into has a bad case of mold and mildew and who knows what else. It smacks you in the face walking in the door and is visible in every room of the home. It has, in less than a week, transferred itself on to my physical body because, alas, I am susceptible to fungal infections because I am borderline Type 2 Diabetic (and may have crossed that border this year but I am working hard on turning that around since seeing my last lab results).

Coming from the last place I lived where there was a mild-moderate mold problem that produced fungal infection for me after living there a few months in spite of continued cleaning and treatments, this place is kind of like poison for this body, alas, and the roommate is a great guy and the price is certainly right as it's free to stay here for at least the first month. I am slowly doing some cleaning, but I don't want to insult the guy nor do I want to overdose the place with caustic chemicals as he has a chronic cough (mild and mildew will do that, but chemicals will aggravate it in the short term).

He's a brilliant guy in many ways, including math and science, so his acceptance of the mold is puzzling, but he has likely gone nose-blind to it as he also accepts (and presents) more body odor and strong halitosis. I am far from a perfect person and by no means judge anyone, but I do feel the effects of the high level of mold and mildew already so I may not be able to get comfortable here. I still appreciate his generosity and hospitality more than words can say.

So I sit here with a runny nose, a slight sore throat and cough, an outbreak of fungal infection in an unpleasant area, and I've been reading...

The CDC and Prevention Magazine are pretty much in agreement that living with mold is not a healthy thing to do and clean-up is highly recommended. . Then there are the less scientific discussions all over the web as mold and mildew seem to be one of the topics people like to argue about a mock each other about. It is so sad that one of the most predominant aspects of the internet is this detached belittling and over-personalization of opinions and outright hostility that has come out in online social interactions, but that is an actual complaint and not the subject of this particular blog entry.

I suppose it is to be expected that political websites will have empty opinions from people who don't know what they are talking about, but exhibit the typical heightened fears or know-it-all attitudes so common to political discussions on the web. Websites dedicated to mold and mildew seem to agree with the science and I'd expect professionals to insist money should be spent on a mold problem. That ain't happening here except for the cleaning products I will buy.

The symptoms websites are not happy places for me as I have developed several (6.5 out of 8) of the symptoms listed here and at least 9 of 14 of symptoms listed here since moving in here last week. Most were present in lesser severity as they came and went at the other place. So this place is most likely just temporary housing for me.

I am still doing my best to maintain positivity but am more concerned now that I've educated myself. I need to spend as little time in this space as possible and that means going out to wifi places to do my job searching during the day and that means not being able to sit in comfort and that means increase other issues and all in all, I'm not feeling too good physically or psychologically right now.

Snap out of it, fool, it's better than the car or forest or street.

I think. (self-mockery for the save :)

What Is Wrong With Microsoft?

Microsoft is so representative of how the dumbing-down of this country worked. We accept and support, with trillions of dollars, a company that provides us with consistently faulty product that interferes with our lives on a regular basis. Just as we accept a government that is corrupt and taking everything they can from people to make a small percentage of people rich because those people pay them to do it. So Microsoft took over my laptop once again to force an update as I was watching the World Series. It took more than half an hour and a few reboots to get my laptop back and by then, the game was over.

It is so easy to hate Microsoft.

Geico Emergency Road Service Sucks

First, it takes at least five minutes to get through to a representative. Picture yourself out on the road and your car breaks down or you get a flat in the dark in an unpleasant or unsafe situation. Does jumping through hoops in a recorded prompt system make sense to you for an emergency call? The technology to identify you and determine your location by phone is commonplace yet Geico doesn't use that. Instead, the call is routed through a prompt system that requires policy number phone number date of birth what is wrong with your vehicle and more followed by a wait time and then a representative who asks for the same information again. Just what you want when you are stuck on the road somewhere.

Then it gets worse. They took five minutes to find a provider and found Pop-A-Lock. I reminded the dispatcher, for the third or fourth time, that I had a flat tire. I didn't need a locksmith, I needed a tow truck. She said Pop-A-Lock will change the tire if I have a spare and a jack. I said fine, but it's not a good jack which is why I am calling road service. The dispatcher said estimated wait time 45 minutes.

They sent 3 texts confirming with telephone numbers, one text saying please call this number. I called and it was Pop-A-Lock and they asked all the same questions... again... and confirmed my location ...again... and said ETA 35 minutes.

An hour later I called Pop-A-Lock again and the dispatcher said she would text the driver so he could call me and give me an ETA. Ten more minutes and I call Geico back and ask their definition of "emergency road service" and they said they would file a complaint about the provider (Pop-A-Lock) and I asked how does that help me fix my flat? and the dispatcher, while sympathetic, put me on hold.

When she got back I said just cancel the service call.

I changed the flat myself.

Tomorrow I will see if I can get the flat repaired and I'll probably switch to AAA.

I will probably shop for car insurance while I am at it.

Bad form, Geico.

Suck-it Microsoft

Please someone give me an alternative to the broken crap Microsoft puts out. Ever since the forced update in Windows 10, I've been getting more and more blue screens of death for a variety of reasons. I have lost work, lost time, and lost patience way too many times and I am totally ready to dump Microsoft. I wish I could say that I will not buy another PC or laptop unless it is a Mac, but currently poverty limits my choices.

Crash!

Microsoft asks... "What can we do to improve your experience?" and I answered...

Fix Windows 10. Ever since the cumulative upgrade last month I have lost data, work, time, and patience. Windows is costing me time, money, opportunities, and respect. Windows Update says I have the latest update installed. Kaspersky and Defender say there is nothing bad on the computer. I have no new hardware. I use no new software. The only change is your product was updated and now it hurts me. I've never used a Mac in 30 years of computer use but I will not be staying with Windows the next time I need a new computer and if these Blue Screens keep appearing daily (sometimes more often), I will be replacing Microsoft very soon. Nothing but grief.

That was weak.

Blah.

Windows 10

So I found the way to turn off auto-restart for Windows 10 auto-updates. Unfortunately, I found that out too late and lost writings and other stuff I was doing because I fell asleep without saving all of the files I was working in. User friendly my ass. Any OS that automatically closes any files without the user's permission is not only not user friendly, it's user disrespectful, user undermining, and user not-for-me. Microsoft, you did it again. You turned me off using your products or trusting your company.

I am also noticing Windows 10 and iphones are not compatible.

Sucks to be stuck in Windows.