Update: Busy on Team Test Lead projects with uTest

A late update on this topic.

I finished the uTest TTL training and had all my TTL training test cases approved. I'm now an official uTest TTL. I started on my first cycles last week or so ago. So busy and a lot to learn.

Here is a link to my uTest profile - with TTL badge. See https://www.utest.com/profile/mailkylie/about

Exciting news - TTL training with utest.com

Since joining uTest late last December and taking on my first paid test cycle in February this year, I've been approached to undertake training to become a Team Test Lead (TTL). If I get through the training, this is a step up from the work I'm currently involved in. It also suits the haemodialysis lifestyle as it is all done online.

Just goes to show that being an enthusiastic and passionate Linux user can get you skills that give you career options in IT.

I'll post an update once I complete TTL training, hopefully by the end of this week or next.

More Dialysis in the Tower

This week I have had two dialysis sessions in a row due to having a fistulagram booked in for Thursday (tomorrow!).

Again I was up in the tower that is the 10th floor of St Vincent's Public Hospital. I was in the inpatient dialysis room with a window seat. Here are the views I had:

Day 1 - Tuesday September 11 2018

Day 2 - Wednesday September 12 2018

The things you find! Old Melbourne MET Ticket!

Wow, I found this while cleaning up around the house.

1987 Melbourne Daily MET travel ticket.

A 1987 MET daily concession travel card for the inner city area. $1.20 in July 1987. Check out the price! I'm not sure how much a daily travel card amounts to these days with the MYKI. If anyone knows please leave a comment.

I also vacuumed up an old PD line cap - despite stopping PD years ago, these things keep on turning up!

Saturday Dialysis in the Tower

This was my view doing dialysis today. I went up to the tenth floor of StV's as the unit is really busy and full at the moment.

                                                                                                                                                           

Early morning start - West Footscray unit fire

So this happened in the wee hours of the morning ...It woke us up, we could smell the fire: https://foreignaffairs.co.nz/2018/08/27/mil-osi-australia-crews-pull-occupant-from-west-footscray-unit-fire/

While I was in the middle of a shower at 8.30am our water went off because some one from either Melbourne Water or City West Water had come down to flush the line (after the fire brigade used it). Flip!

Guardian Australia news article about actor Jack Thompson doing haemodialysis in outback Australia

Came across an article in the Guardian AU today and found it interesting and informative.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/13/happy-to-be-alive-jack-thompson-garma-and-a-purple-dialysis-truck

Ref: The Guardian AU image from 13/08/18

This is very familiar,  "it's above 30C outside but the tubes running his blood from his arm into a dialysis machine have caused a slight chill." Jack might need a heated vest or jacket!

Shout out to the big red kidney bus -  https://kidney.org.au/bus and the purple truck - https://www.purplehouse.org.au/communities/the-purple-truck for providing these much needed services to dialysis patients who live remotely or who wish to travel within Australia.

Time line of Dialysis

I thought it could be a good idea to document my time on dialysis.

The downhill climb for my kidneys started much earlier than this...1996/97. Good old lupus nephritis. On top of that I found out I also have anti-phospholipid syndrome and suffered my first mini stroke.

Timeline

02/12/2007 - Start PD, tenchoff catheter installed in abdomen.
05/04/2010 - Still on PD. Able to work and lead an almost normal life.
??/01/2013 - Still on PD when I broke my leg.
??/02/2013 - At home with broken leg and still on PD.
??/11/2013 - Ended PD with major infection. Started HD with a permacath.
10/10/2015 - Get the call to have a kidney transplant
20/10/2015 - Acute rejection of transplanted kidney. The rejection happened pretty much straight away. I ended up very sick. Still doing HD.
18/11/2015 - Was discharged from hospital after the failed transplant but ended back in almost straight away.
02/01/2016 - Finally out of the hospital again.
Currently   - HD continues on in-centre.

Total Dialysis = 11 years! 

Seeya Dad - Sorry you had to have a shit ending

This is a picture of my Dad in hospital in July 2018 before he deteriorated very quickly. He had an aggressive cancer in his brain.

Born 17/07/1947. Died 04/08/18. Aged 71. Too young for someone so fit. 

The picture below is of Dad and all his children. I'm the one standing with the daggy hat. Must have been at a time when I lost my hair. My brother is there and my two sisters.Taken in June 2011.

I'll miss you Dad.

I just found this last photo, picture with Jo, me, Brad and Dad. Taken in March 2011.

Link to web page that provides a step by step guide for wiping a Dell computer hard drive

Link to web page that provides a step by step guide for installing Linux on a old dell PC. This info is provided for a dialysis nurse who needs to wipe an old dell PC.

https://www.dell.com/support/article/au/en/audhs1/sln151664/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-on-your-dell-pc?lang=en#Setup_the_Ubuntu_Install

Preparation: Be sure to plug in both a keyboard and a mouse. In the early stages of the procedure only the keyboard can be used. The mouse can be used once the graphical user interface loads (when Ubuntu is up and running).

Put in USB drive first: First put the USB drive in the PC. Turn on the PC after the USB drive is definitely plugged in.

After turning the PC on, quickly hit the F12 key on the keyboard. This should bring up a boot once menu.You can only use the keyboard keys to navigate the options. Choose boot USB.

Refer to the guide provided by the dell link above.

Important Notes: 

• We do not need to complete the install process and we do not need to connect to a network to download updates while the install occurs.

• At step 7 DO NOT download updates etc, leave the options here unchecked. If asked to connect to wifi via the following step - choose "I don't want to connect to a wifi network right now."

• For installation type just select erase disk and install Ubuntu. and then click the button that says install now.

• Unfortunately you may need to fill in some info under 'Configuring the Ubuntu Install.' Refer to the weblink for a guide.
  
  You could just enter dummy (rubbish but compliant) info all the way - we are only doing these steps to install over the drive and wipe the original data.

While the system installs some pictures will display highlighting the features of the Ubuntu system. The progress of the installation (and therefore wiping of the drive) will also be shown.

When the installation finishes you will see 'the Installation is complete' message. 

To confirm the drive is wiped, select the restart option (button).

This will restart the computer and load the fresh Ubuntu install which will confirm the hard drive is wiped.

As the computer restarts, remove the USB drive to ensure it does not load up again.

There are easier ways to wipe the hard drive using Linux methods but unfortunately I did not have any media to install dban onto and the instructions for using other methods seem a bit complex for the intended audience.

Note: To find my email address check the info in the about me section next to my picture at the top right of this page. Access the info under view my complete profile. You can also leave comments on this page.

Heller Heated Vest Part Four: Dialysis second use

Today my chair was in front of the window which can be cold when there is no sun. Today we had a sunny morning so I was even able to catch some rays.

The vest kept me so warm that I got sweaty towards the end. Other patients could see I had a sweat up on my face. My back also got a bit sweaty. I guess that is extra fluid off - possibly even 100 mls. I weighed in at 51.7 kg - needing 2.6 L off to get me back to 49.5 kg. At the end I weighed in at 49.4 kg.

I'm not claiming it was the sweat factor but I will keep an eye on this. I've had small 100 ml discrepancies before. I do not have any drinks but I have a couple of small sweet biscuits and a swiss cheese and tomato sandwich when the trolley comes around with morning tea.

I'm happy to report that today the battery lasted 6.5 hours on heat setting 1.

Heller Heated Vest Part Three: Battery life...is Great!

I arrive at my dialysis clinic in Fitzroy anywhere between 7.10-7.30 am for a 7.30 am treatment slot. First in for the day. In Melbourne this winter we have had 9 am temperatures ranging between 2.4 and 12 degrees.

See http://www.weatherzone.com.au/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=86338&list=ds for the Melbourne Daily Temperature Table for July 2018.

Even though it is extremely cold at 6.45-7.00 am, I did not switch the jacket on for my drive in - my car heater warms up pretty quick and I did not want to waste the battery.

I wore the vest over a skivvy and then I put a jacket (with hoodie) over the Heller heated vest. See pics below.

The jacket with battery weighs .5 kg. Not much at all! I had to know the weight so we could take it off when I weighed in on completion of dialysis. I don't like to take my jacket off in case I spring a leak. It is also why I wear my shoes too.

The vest was switched on at 7.30 am. I used heat setting number 1 as recommended by the manual. My treatment goes for 4.5 hours. Because I'm on blood thinners it can take up to an hour to stop bleeding and that is on a good day!

Having the vest to test today was handy because I was in one of the private/seclusion rooms - aka the icebox.

I left dialysis and the jacket was still warming! It stopped while i was driving home..at about 2 pm. So it lasted 6.5 hours! The company claimed the battery lasted 6 hours on heat setting 1...and it really did!

The battery gets quite warm in the pocket, not hot to touch but friendly. If my right hand got cold I could warm it on the battery. This was handy and I did it a few times.

I'll do more updates about the vest as I learn more, information about washing it and battery longevity.

All in all after the first proper use I'm more than impressed with this vest, even if I do look odd in it.

Photos:

Heller Heated Vest Medium - without jacket

Heller Heated Vest Medium - with jacket.
Michelin Man style.

Heller Heated Vest Part Two: Dialysis trial

My heated vest works! While it might be a little tight across my chest (a point of contention with my partner), it really keeps me warm at dialysis. I'm wearing another jacket over the vest. I'll take a picture later so you can see how silly I look. Dialysis isn't a fashion show - as long as I'm comfortable and warm!

While it would be great to have heating pads on the front too, this vest is a huge improvement on my normally cold state at dialysis. I've been here for an hour and i'm very toasty!

As provided by the instructions I'm only using heat setting 1 as I'm not in sub zero temperatures. The battery will last longer this way too. Heat setting 1 is enough for me, when I was testing the vest at home, I used heat setting 3, and while there is a difference, it is not that great.

The battery in the front right pocket does get warm so I can put my free hand inside to get it warm as needed. I'll do another update to write more about the battery and how long it lasts for me.

I was suprised that the tag on the vest indicates origins as Altona through GAF - GAF only do bulk orders. Altona is only a hop skip and jump from me. The Heated Vest Store is in South Australia.

So overall, yes I recommend buying this vest for use in haemodialysis (hemodialysis) centres. At 78.95 AUD inc delivery, this vest is worth it. A bigger size might have been better though. Go to the Heated Vest Store to order yours.

Heller Heated Vest Part One

Heller Heated Vest

I ordered the heated vest on Monday and it turned up early on Thursday morning. Pretty quick delivery. It was shipped from South Australia!

It came in a box. See picture below.

I ordered a medium (M) as they suggested ordering a size bigger than you'd normally take. I also used their sizing chart. The M jacket is very tight on me. I know the vest is supposed to be tight for it to work effectively but mine is quite tight across the chest. The length is great. See pictures. (To do: add more, inc me wearing it).

I thought there were heating pads at the front in the chest area, but I must have got confused after looking at so many different heated jackets and vests. The Heller heated vest only has warming pads at the back of the vest. At the top and the bottom.

While it comes with an adapter for charging, it still is via a USB cable. The battery charges quicker using the adapter than using a USB port on a laptop.

The battery itself is quite small and attaches to a cord in the front right pocket. The battery itself can become a source of heat too.

After charging the battery up fully, I wore the vest around the house to test it. The environment here is quite warm. On the highest heat setting the vest eventually gets too hot! You can definitely feel it. I put the heat setting down to the lowest setting and you can still tell there is warmth.

My partner has been dissing the purchase all week commenting the vest will be crap and that I really should get a proper one (work wear heated gear).

The vest was $78.95 AUD including standard delivery to anywhere in Australia. Here is a link to the Heated Vest Store: https://www.heatedvest.com.au

I'll be testing it out at dialysis tomorrow. Stay tuned for an update!

Excited! I've ordered a heated vest to wear at haemodialysis treatments

It has been really cold at haemodialysis treatments this winter, I can barely keep warm enough!

I've been taking to keeping my laptop power pack close to my body, that helps but I need to be aware it doesn't get too hot.

I've been thinking about battery operated heated clothing after looking at how crappy USB heated equipment can be.

I started looking at workwear gear by the likes of Makita, AEG, Milwaulkee and others. See https://thegearhunt.com/best-heated-jackets-reviewed/ for an idea of this type of heated jacket.

Since then, I have come across Dragon Heat Wear. Dragon Heat Wear is from US but has a distributor in Victoria. Finally I have just ordered something from the Australian based Heated Vest Store and hope it arrives really quick. I might need to buy another battery as one battery may not last for a whole dialysis treatment session.

I'm thinking I can wear the heated vest under another jacket. I'll keep this blog posted about how the vest and battery works out for me.

Good day for a long bleed after dialysis.

Well today really sucked a lot. I got into dialysis early so managed to come off the machine at noon. One of my needle exit sites just kept bleeding. My INR was low at 1.8 and I no longer have any anticoagulants when on the machine.

I was there until 2pm or a little after. Maybe a new record, I set so many I can't keep track. Eventually my arm stopped bleeding and I could leave. I travel with a clamp on my arm as I drive a manual. I'm home now and all seems well.

Update on online website and app testing platforms

So I'm now getting into this a lot. This is all I am doing to keep myself busy now. After breaking both my wrists (one after each other), I'm now back to almost normal typing again.

I've been in several test cycles on utest and have been paid. Paid for test cases and for finding bugs! Utest is definitely my favourite platform. It is run by Applause. I have even performed a usability test cycle using my Linux platform and the Chromium browser. See https://www.utest.com for more info, feel free to use my referral link if you think you might sign up - https://www.utest.com/ref336271

Another platform I signed up to is Australian based Crowdsprint. I'm doing my first official test cycle at the moment. See https://crowdsprint.com/ for more info.

Crowdsprint pay for test cases and for bugs. My first test cycle is a bug only finding project. Test cases were available but only for specific devices. Even though they seem to be registered in Melbourne, payments are advised in USD.

On one of the sites, Test Birds, I have been able to refer a friend to one of the projects. If they successfully complete the project, I will get a bonus payment. Here is my general referral link for Test Birds. Not sure exactly what this gets me, possibly just community points.  https://nest.testbirds.com/?t=05f3e8b1-9f76-4b9a-a185-1f97b8fe8de9#tester

See my earlier post about this topic here: https://kyliebraindump.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/working-online-testing-websites-and.html

I will post updates on this topic from time to time.

Fistula Problems

Problem fistula

I have a very short fistula. The needle sites are very close to each other. My skin has taken a pounding with all the needles that I have. Lately the needle exit site have not been healing very well and there is a chance something could go wrong. An infection or even a burst fistula!

Fistula cut to extend fistula.

The idea is to lengthen my fistula so
there are more places to poke needles in.

It might be ready to use in 4 or so weeks.
Another scar to add to the collection.

Working Online Testing Websites and Apps with Ubuntu Linux and Android

Since breaking my right wrist a couple of months ago, I had sort of put website and app testing on hold.

Despite this new broken left wrist I decided to continue on with my efforts.

I can only test on an Ubuntu Linux platform with browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Opera and possibly more. I can test apps for Android devices running 7.1.1.

Some of the sites have tests that can be conducted anywhere and without the need for audio recordings. I can do these while at haemodialysis (hemodialysis).

One of the sites, can't remember which, accepted devices like smart tvs and casting devices.

There are other sites but these are very windows/mac specific and I can't participate.

Examples (Win/Mac only):

Userfeel - https://www.userfeel.com/ - win/mac only
testing time - https://www.testingtime.com/ - win/mac only

whatusers do - http://panel.whatusersdo.com/become-a-tester/ - win/mac only

usertesting - https://www.usertesting.com/ - win/mac only
Userlytics - https://www.userlytics.com/tester-signup

I have been a member of TrymyUI for quite some time but haven't been offered many tests. I don't monitor the site either. I have done one successful test and a dud one. The dud one was because there was too much noise in the background, I tried to complete a test while at haemodialysis and there was way too much background noise! I was paid for this test.

I'm on enrollapp but they pay peanuts for simple tests and feedback.

So far the best site I've joined is Utest. I have participated in two test cycles and have been paid very reasonable money.

In terms of payment, all the sites I have joined pay out to paypal.

Joined, participated and have been paid.

https://www.trymyui.com

https://enrollapp.com/

https://www.utest.com 

Only recently joined:

https://nest.testbirds.com/?t=05f3e8b1-9f76-4b9a-a185-1f97b8fe8de9#tester - Requires the completion and passing of the online training. Need to complete a demo test report which will be assessed. I've provided my referral link for Test Birds.

https://ferpection.com - Requires a test report and assessment

https://usabilityhub.com - Similar to enrollapp, pays peanuts.

https://99tests.com - May have had to complete some training and a test.

I'm planning to complete my registration for a few more sites and there are a couple I need to investigate further or complete screening tests first.

Analaysia - http://www.analysia.com/user.asp
Test io - https://tester.test.io/ 
ErliBird - https://erlibird.com/beta-testers
Validately - https://validately.com/ - Need to use chrome web browser to sign up and do initial test.
StartupLift - http://startuplift.com/ - Not really sure what to do here. 
Loop 11 testing - https://www.loop11.com/ - Need to investigate further

intellizoom  - https://www.intelli-zoom.com/panelist/register - Need to investigate further
Betafamily - https://betafamily.com - Just application testing for smartphones and tablets. Not all testing pays. Doesn't seem like a lot of money offered here.

I recently discovered Testmate - https://www.testmate.com.au/become-tester - This is an Australian based website/app testing service. Will report findings and experiences when I know.

It does look like testmate website tests need to be performed using Windows or Mac. Android devices can be used for testing apps. A screening test needs to be done using screencast-o-matic. See https://screencast-o-matic.com - This only works in Windows or Mac! Not sure if they would accept the test using another screen recorder.

Drop me an email or a comment if you know of any online sites that offer testing work that can be completed by Linux or Android users. Also drop me a line if you have any feedback about any of the sites listed.

Useful Testing tools:
 
Dareboost: https://www.dareboost.com - Website quality and performance
testing

Mobizen: https://www.mobizen.com/ - Screencasting from Android smartphones

Recordmydesktop: http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/about.php - Record desktop activity within Linux

Android Studio and other adb extensions within Linux for android debugging and access to logfiles.

By signing up to all these testing sites (three specifically had Ubuntu as a supported platform) and completing training courses, I have learned a lot about testing too. 

Another Broken Wrist!

Again!

Who could have thought. If you only knew me!

I tripped over my own phone charging cable and landed on my left wrist. Ouch. This break hurt more than the previous one (about 8ish weeks ago). I did my radius quite well. I managed to get my dialysis access arm (fistula).

As you can see from the picture, there were no problems getting the needles in today.

I'm yet to get a fiberglass cast, the swelling needs to go down before that can happen. Not sure what colour I will choose yet. Probably purple, it is my favourite colour.

Haemodialysis (hemodialysis) Guide for Patients.

I decided to write a patient's perspective on attending haemodialysis / hemodialysis (HD). In Australia we spell haemodialysis and in the USA the spelling is hemodialysis. Both terms refer to the same thing.

Here is hoping that some people will find it useful. This is a first draft, I'm keen to hear from others who attend in centre dialysis. Is the guide helpful? What else should/could go in it?

I plan to tidy up the guide over time, maybe add some pictures too. Keep your eye on this page for developments.

Here is a link to the guide in PDF format: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wOjpJkz8gOet7lnyWWqRwLwyZOOEFn0j

My first test cycle at u test!

Due to renal failure and needing to attend in centre haemodialysis 3 days a week for up to 8 hours at a time, I've been doing online work. Mainly looking around at what is out there and signing up to a few sites (research, website and app testing).

I got my first official test cycle at u test! It is website usability testing. Great payout rates for this test, so I'm very happy. Hopefully I will be able to sign up to more test cycles now I have some experience.

I was also selected because my test platform was Ubuntu and the Chromium web browser! Even better. U test also have android tests too, I've not done one yet.

For those interested in u test, check out www.utest.com for details and to sign up. They payout to paypal and you need to take care of your own taxes. They take testers from all around the world with different hardware and software setups.

I'm on other sites too: Try My User Interface at www.trymyui.com, Enrol app at https://enrollapp.com, and Userfeel at https://www.userfeel.com/t/2f782eb9 (my referral link).

If you know of any other sites that sign up testers drop me a line.

6 weeks later...cast off!

Finally after 6 long weeks in a purple cast, it has come off. My wrist and forearm were able to have a shower.

My right wrist (bottom in the pic) is still swollen and very wonky. I've got physio to do and hopefully the wrist won't look so bad in the end.

Cast off. Broken wrist at the bottom.