I'm doing my best not to stress about the upcoming surgery. My silliest worry is the "no heavy lifting" rule following the procedure. The Hong Kong Orchid tree in the front yard was doing great a few months ago but now it appears to have died. [Q] Should I cut it down this week? [A] Warden says no, we'll pay someone to take it down. OK, [Q] which of the thousand potted plants need to be moved into or out of the sun? [A] Just few dozen. [Q] Why is it so hot in here? [A] Probably needs some freon and I can call someone for that.
Other than that, it has been the week I expected. After the party Monday, we returned home to find the master bedroom cable box churning through endless re-boots. AT&T site says there's 24/7 support so I called the number. It's automated so you have to respond to their questions rather than ask your own. After an hour with the talking machine (which doesn't work during a gateway re-boot) I told it to cancel my service. Suddenly a human wanted to talk to me. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with a woman in the Philippines who decided my re-boots of the gateway and the box were bogus and suggested someone from AT&T could do a better job. She said I would be charged $99 If the problem wasn't with their equipment. I told her to cancel the service call and I would contact Comcast and fix the problem for good. She then promised I wouldn't be charged but that someone over 18 had to be home when the AT&T tech showed up. I said that wasn't possible because I was going in for surgery and my wife might prefer to visit with me rather than their tech (she doesn't like strangers in the house when she's alone). Another 20 minutes on hold and they were able to arrange for a new box to be shipped to me. Temporarily fixed the problem by swapping the guest room box. A wasted chunk of my life I will never get back.
Tuesday afternoon was a pre-op exam with my primary care doctor and was a pleasant experience. Arrived at 2:55 for a 3:00 appointment and was talking to the doctor at 3:05. Nurse took vitals, urine, blood, EKG and lab downstairs took chest Xrays. I was in the car at 3:45 heading home. Got home, parked the PT Cruiser in the driveway and plugged in the trickle charger. As I walked into the house, glanced at the car and saw the passenger rear tire was low -- not flat, just low. On my way to bed at 1:00am I went out and checked the tire again and it was flat.
I took the tire off Wednesday morning, filled it with air and put it in the pool. Spent 20 minutes turning the tire every which way in the water and there wasn't a bubble anywhere. My WTF meter is pegged until I put the cap back on the valve stem -- a gush of air comes off the base of the stem. I know I have been charged for new valve stems at least twice on the Cruiser and my guess is they were never replaced. A clue is the silly little stainless sleeve and chrome cap I put on the wheels in 2004. The car has always returned from the tire store with those doodads in place.
Seventeen years and 48,000 miles seems about right for it to go bad. Went in the garage and rummaged around until I found two clamp-on valve stems. Called two Tire Kingdom stores and both said they couldn't fix it today but maybe tomorrow. I decided to drop the tire off at the closest store and let them fit it into their schedule.
I disconnected the trickle charger from the Corvette and noticed the light on the charger was red, not green. WTF meter is pegged again and when I try to start the car, starter made a weak single click. The battery changing process on the 'Vette is a minor PIA unless you have added a ground effects package to the body. Instead of removing a few screws (including one hidden under some weatherstripping) I remove the 14 screws attaching the rear section of the splash shield. It involves turning the wheel one way to get at the torx screws from the outer edge and turning it the other way to get at the hex bolts (including two under the car).
If I was smart, I would have removed the tire. It, along with the cruise control module is kinda in the way. But not for someone who has loosened the side panel.
Tire and battery go in the trunk of the Cadillac (only car running). Stopped at the tire store first and the super busy place had four empty bays and the fifth bay occupied by a dust covered thing that has probably been there for the whole 21st century. Guy at the desk tells me to back the car up and they'll get the tire out. Based on how well everything is going, I left the Cadillac parked and rolled the tire into the shop myself.
I don't know if there is a training program at tire stores but the guy in the shop has apparently never seen a clamp-on valve stem. I have them on the Corvettes and the Cadillac so I know they are real.
I believe they are more reliable than the rubber stem versions (I've owned the Vette for 30 years and they've never leaked and never been replaced. I showed the tech how to install it and he was amazed. I was thinking of dropping off the Cruiser to have them do the other three wheels but I think I'm going to bring in one wheel at a time and supervise (or at least watch). It's a subtle difference but it looks and feels more solid.
