Day 219

I thought I'd seen everything until the dogs woke me up last night with loud, insistent barking that usually means there's a noise they want me to investigate. I actually did hear a weird noise, so I grabbed a flashlight and went outside to see what it was. At first I thought one of the outdoor faucets had sprung a leak, but when I listened more carefully, the noise was coming from behind the greenhouse. It was the air conditioner compressor. I turned off the power and went to take a look. Jeez, what a mess! Evidently a rat had gotten inside the enclosure and was sitting on top of the fan blades when the compressor kicked in. The inside of the unit looked like someone had thrown a rat in a blender. There was no damage to the air conditioner, but there was plenty of damage to the rat.

Today was another employee picture day for one of my clients. I don't make much money doing these pictures, but it helps me keep my webmaster business going. Several years ago I noticed that most people weren't updating their websites very often. After a while they would decide they didn't need me anymore. I started offering free picture updates as part of my basic web maintenance package and all the sudden people started updating their websites all the time.  Basically, words are of little interest to many people, but everyone seems to love pictures. I probably spend too much time doing these employee pictures, but to me it's good practice. When I do get a good paying photo job, I find that shooting tons of employee pictures has made me faster, more consistent and much better at lighting than I used to be.

It's almost time for the Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament again. Actually, the tournament isn't until September, but time goes by quickly when you've got to line up sponsors for each hole and beg people for silent auction items. I'm not as good at finding sponsors as some of the volunteers, but some years I still manage to snag a few. Insurance agents will usually sponsor a hole. Maybe the Land Rover people will play this year. I find that if I ask them to sponsor a hole right after they're hit me with a big repair bill, they usually feel guilty enough to play.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day