Day 553

Although today was the longest day of the year, it actually went by pretty quickly. I spent most of the day writing press releases and trying to figure out how to create a forum that would do all the things one of my clients requested. For the life of me, I don't know why any company would want a forum on their website. It seems like an open invitation for disgruntled employees to say nasty things and for competitors to try to steal your business. People still like forums though. I actually participate in a few forums myself, but I certainly wouldn't really want to moderate one. I guess the interactivity is a plus for certain kinds of business, but life was a lot easier back in the days when you could get away with putting a few fake testimonials up on your site and be done with customer opinions.

It's not hard to tell that Summer is here to stay. When I went up on the roof this morning to sweep away the water from last night's heavy rains, I could see little puddles of water literally evaporating right in front of my eyes. The heat does make the job of sweeping away rain water a bit easier, but I have to be careful not to step in puddles of melted tar. There are also lots of ants up on the roof in the Summer. As I was hooking up the sump pump this morning, a ton of little ants came crawling out of the hose.

I have a hearing scheduled later this week with the Appraisal Review Board. I am appealing the property tax valuation of my rental property. I'm thinking that my appeal will probably be granted this year, especially since all my neighbors got their own property taxes lowered last year. By the time I thought about making an appeal last year, the deadline had already passed. The same thing happened the year before. This year, I am determined to get at least the same rate as my next door neighbors already have. It's funny. When property values are going up, the city never hesitates to raise your property taxes immediately. When real estate values are going down, however, they do absolutely nothing. Real estate values have been going down in Dallas for three years in a row and the city has never lowered my property tax.

I got an e-mail saying that Dash's painting was finished and could be shipped to us as soon as the oil paint dries. I can't wait to see it.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day