Day 685 - Halloween

We didn't do any Halloween pet pictures for Dalmatian Rescue this year. Last year, there was a tornado warning during our photo event and nobody came. The year before, we were at Unleashed Indoor Dog Park and I photographed a boatload of animals in costumes. I enjoy taking pictures of animals in costumes, but I'll be the first to admit that it's an acquired taste. A lot of people seem to think that dressing up a dog isn't "serious" photography. I tell these people to look at William Wegman. His whimsical portraits of his Weimaraners Man Ray and Fay Ray are hanging in some of the best museums in the country.

Without silly looking dogs to photograph, Halloween was just an ordinary day. I wrote another watch article and then tried to make sense of the 2012 enrollment documents I had to fill out before the end of the day to continue my health insurance plan. These enrollment documents are always confusing for me, since I am both the employer and the employee in my health insurance plan. Should I check the box that says "Employer will pay 100% of the cost and the employee pays nothing," or should I check the box that says "Employer pays nothing and the employee pays 100% of the cost? Actually, whatever box I check I end up paying exactly the same: way too much.

In September, my broker convinced me to buy some inverse positions to protect myself against a serious market downturn that he though was imminent. I sold those positions at a loss this week after one of the best bull runs this year. Go figure. I'm very discouraged by my results in the market this year. Basically, I still don't see many positive things about the economy in real life, so I'm easily swayed by bearish arguments. On the other hand, I know that traders are becoming increasingly sophisticated at gaming the system and turning bad news into a profit. I still believe in the old "buy low, sell high" adage, but when the lows and highs occur on the same day, it's real hard to keep up with things.

Until I figure out the intricacies of investing, I'll continue to plug away at copywriting and photography. I think the dogs have a much easier life.

Roxie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 684

Weekends go by far too quickly. There were a whole lot of things I wanted to accomplish this weekend, and most of them still aren't done. I didn't spend the weekend curled up with a book or watching a sci-fi marathon on TV. I actually did work. I always work on weekends. I think one reason I like walking the dogs so much is that it seems to be the one respite I get from a life of keeping my nose to the grindstone.

I often wonder how I used to find time to play in a rock & roll band or spend entire weekends exploring new places to photograph. Now, instead of going to band practice or doing test shots for my photo portfolio, I tend my little Internet universe. Social media is very time consuming. I write blog posts. I answer questions about Dalmatians from my Twitter followers. Lately, I've been trying to add a new photograph every day to my Google+ account, and even that small endeavor is taking a lot more time than I had expected. I initially thought that since I'd been taking pictures for so long, I'd have enough to last forever. Now, I'm beginning to think that I've only taken 100 really good photos in my entire life. I'm running out of good pictures and it's forcing me to go out and take some more. Maybe this is a good thing though. The picture that Thomas Hawk liked recently was one that I had just taken a week earlier. To me, this is a lot better than if a famous photographer had liked something I photographed twenty years ago.

Dot and Dash had a really nice day at the dog park this afternoon. The weather was perfect and there were lots of friendly dogs to play with. I wonder how many dogs only get walks on nice sunny days? I walk and attend to Dot and Dash exactly the same, rain or shine. We never see many other dogs on cold, dreary days though. I'm convinced that if you want to get anywhere in life, you've got to treat the dreary days exactly the same as any other day. Keep on truckin' I guess. What else can you do?

Puppies are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 683

I drove all the way across town today, only to discover that Elliott's Hardware on Maple Avenue had been torn down. Ever since I moved to Dallas, Elliott's has been my go-to place for odd fasteners, specialty tools and things that you just couldn't find anywhere else. For years, it was common knowledge that you could find anything at Elliott's. Maybe they just opened another store somewhere else, but even if they did, it won't be the same. The original Elliott's was unique, partially because some of the original employees still seemed to work there. These guys knew where every weird nut and bolt was hidden. They saved my butt several times on projects where I needed something that places like Lowes or Home Depot wouldn't even think of carrying. I'm definitely going to miss this store.

My trip across town wasn't entirely in vain though. I was able to find some light black ink for my large format printer at Competitive Camera so I could finish the Dalmatian Rescue Santa Paws posters I had promised Janet today. I can't believe it's almost time to start taking Santa pictures again. Our first holiday pet photo event starts on November 18, and we continue to do the Santa photos every weekend through mid-December.

Now that it's getting closer to dusk when I take the dogs on their evening walk, I'm starting to see lots of wedding photographers and brides again. Having a sunset shot of the wedding dress near a lake must be an essential part of every wedding photographer's package these days. I've seen a different bride being photographed just about every sunny day this week while I walk the dogs.

I was going to use today to get caught up on some things, and now I can't even remember what unfinished task was so important. I guess if I can't even remember what I needed to do, waiting until tomorrow won't be much of a problem. Probably waiting until next month won't be much of a problem either.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 682

I woke up sleepy after watching all eleven innings of the Rangers game last night. It's hard to believe that the Rangers came within one strike of winning the World Series twice in that game and still managed to lose. I guess I do understand though. It seems like I've been one strike away from success quite a few times in my life.

I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a tiring week, and today was no exception. After finishing the required October article for the writer's group I participate in, completing another watch article, dealing with a few web problems and walking the dogs, all I had time to do was sweep the standing water from last night's rains off the roof. Where did all the fun go. Lately, I just feel like one of those Hamsters spinning on a wheel in their cage.

I'll have to admit that this evening was fun though. We took the dogs for their long promised dinner at Cafe Lago. The dogs absolutely love this place and we think the food is pretty good ourselves. The unique thing about Cafe Lago is that the head chef for the restaurant cooks the dog's menu as well. The doggie items on the menu are absolutely delicious and completely safe for dogs to eat. Dot had the meatloaf tonight and Dash had the roasted chicken. I couldn't resist ordering my favorite Cuban Pulled Pork Sandwich again. I've never been to Cuba, but I can't imagine that this sandwich would taste any better in Havana.

I noticed today that Thomas Hawk had given a +1 to one of the photographs I posted on my Google page. That almost made up for the dismal decline in my Klout score the other day. I try not to take the daily ebb and flow of the social media world too seriously, but it can be hard to ignore if your job is basically staring at a computer all day. I'd kind of like to believe that all the time I spend online actually means something, but it probably doesn't.

I took a quick peek at the game on the TV in the other room. The Rangers are behind 3 to 2 in the fifth inning. If the game is anything like last night's, the night is still young.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 681

It was a chilly, gray day. Janet got me up early to walk the dogs, because it was supposed to start raining any minute. The rain didn't actually begin until well after supper, but it's definitely raining now. The colder weather this morning reminded me that I still hadn't picked up my jacket at the tailor after I asked them to put in a new zipper last week. After picking up the jacket, I went to the bank and then back home again. There's no point in going far on a chilly, gray day.

Luckily, the dreary day was good for something. I made myself a pot of chili to eat and set about catching up on work. I edited another video for my doctor client, wrote another watch article and tried to get caught up on another week's worth of website revisions. It wasn't a pretty day, but it definitely was a productive day.

The dogs didn't seem to mind being cooped up in the house while I worked. They don't even like the thought of rain, so every time I let them out in the yard, they immediately came right back in the house anyway. It was definitely more comfortable inside. The furnace was working. The house was toasty warm. And there were plenty of dog blankets for them to sleep on.

I need to remember to turn on the television and watch the Rangers game. With any luck, they could win the World Series tonight. The team certainly came close last year and hopefully they can go all the way this time around. It might not be raining in St. Louis, but it's raining cats and dogs in Dallas right now. I wish I'd remembered to take the trash out to the street a little earlier. I'm going to get wet, but I still got a lot done today.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 680

Did anybody else notice that their Klout score dropped dramatically last night? Yesterday my score was 63 and today it's 39. Yikes. That's a big drop. Klout evidently changed their algorithm to reward what they call the quality of your social interactions and penalize people who are simply interested in quantity. This isn't good news for authors, bloggers and other people who use Twitter to promote their book, their blog, or their products. As a result, a productive person who actually might have quite a bit of clout in real life can have a terrible Klout score if they only use social media to say "Thanks for the re-tweet" occasionally. On the other hand, an unemployed person with no life at all can now have a great Klout score if they spend all day talking to friends on Facebook. I'm disillusioned with Klout now.

Dot won first prize in the "Most Catlike" category at our annual training class Halloween Party tonight. I tried to get a picture of her, but she wouldn't stay still. Unfortunately, Dash didn't win in the "Funniest" category, even thought he was pretty funny doing his usual hopping and dancing around in a Hula dancer costume. I thought Dash should have won something, because he actually did look like a Hula dancer with his butt waggling around most of the evening. Dot got a PetSmart gift card for her efforts, while Dash got nothing at all. Like Heidi Klum always says on Project Runway, "one day you're in and the next day you're out." Hopefully, Dash didn't get as bent out of shape about losing as I did about the precipitous drop in my Klout score. You can't depend on anything these days.

I thought I'd have some time to practice using Avid Media Composer today, but no such luck. By the time I finished my website updates and articles, the day was over. Maybe I wasted too much time making French Toast this morning

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 679

I was pretty much just a pet taxi today. I took Dot to the vet this morning for her dental exam. A while later, I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot and exam. Then I went back to the vet again and picked up Dot and took her home. In between, I went to a meeting with a printer about an upcoming print job and stopped by the Land Rover dealer to get them to turn my catalytic converter warning light off again.

Dot spent most of the day at the vet, because dogs have to have anesthesia for dental work. I always worry about anesthesia, since year's ago, a friend's dog died after having a bad reaction to the anesthesia after a simple teeth cleaning. I don't know all that much about anesthesia, but I used to feel comfortable knowing that most veterinarians use Isoflurane gas. An animal wakes up almost immediately after the gas is removed with very few side effects. Lately, I've learned that Isoflurane gas is usually used in conjunction with Propofol. Yep, that's the same drug that killed Michael Jackson. My vet assures me that Propofol is quite safe if administered correctly and adds that I've probably been given the drug myself if I've ever been anesthetized at a hospital. At any rate, Dot is fine. I still need to take her IV drip bandage off though.

I made some website revisions today, but I'm still not quite up to speed this week. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a busy day. One of my clients wants to change their online forms, and I always have problems with forms. It's hard enough to get them to work correctly in the first place, and sometimes "fixing" the form only makes things worse. The problem is that most online forms return their results in e-mail and often lose all their formatting in the process. Clients are always telling me that their form results look "messy." You get what you pay for I guess. Most people still tend to use the basic form-mail scripts that their web host offers for free.

Tomorrow is the annual dog training school Halloween party. We're a little behind on the dog's costumes this year. I guess we're actually way behind. Janet is still sewing Dot's costume right now. I think she is going as a cat.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 678

It was a fantastic day for photography. I didn't even realize how special the day was until I took the dogs on their morning walk. We were immediately enveloped in a thick fog. The trouble with foggy mornings is that usually the fog burns off long before I can grab a camera. After about fifteen minutes, I could tell that this fog was burning off very slowly. Even though the dogs were in no hurry and wanted to smell every dew laden bush, it looked like I might be able to still have time to take a few pictures after I got them home again. I love weather like this. The light is soft and even. The ground is usually covered with dew. Most importantly, on days like this, the fog lifts very gradually, revealing different objects in the background over time. A foggy day is different from a rainy day, because when the fog lifts, the sky is usually perfectly clear.

When I got the dogs back to the house, I grabbed my camera gear and headed back to the lake. I got quite a few nice shots of sailboats in the mist as the fog lifted. As an added bonus, there were lots of spiderwebs near the shore, covered with tiny pearls of dew. For about an hour, everything around me looked like a picture postcard, and then the sun appeared through the mist and it was all over.

Getting some decent photos for a change put me in a good mood, so when I got home, I made a big pot of coffee, diced some bell peppers, mixed in some salsa and hot sausage, added a few eggs and made breakfast burritos. By the time I finished breakfast, it was noon.

I spent the rest of the day doing some much needed bookkeeping. I balanced my checkbook, paid a bunch of bills and took them down to the post office. I didn't open Dreamweaver at all today. Even though there is still a little unfinished web business on my desk, I think it can wait until tomorrow.

The vet called today to confirm Dash's dental appointment tomorrow. Oops. I had to explain to them that it was actually Dot who was having her teeth cleaned tomorrow. They had gotten the two dogs mixed up in their appointment book. Everybody gets things mixed up these days. Avid sent me the wrong Media Composer software. The Land Rover dealer skipped some essential items during my service check. Sometimes I wonder how many things I forget when dealing with my own clients. Probably quite a few.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 677

The dogs were totally disgusted with us today. We drove them all the way up to the Wagging Tail dog park, only to discover that it was closed all day due to standing water. Since there was nowhere else nearby to let the dogs out, we had to drive all the way home again without letting them out of the car. Later in the day, we decided to give them a treat and take them to Cafe Lago with us for dinner, but once again, when we arrived at the dog friendly neighborhood restaurant, it was closed.

It was that kind of a day. We got off to a real late start this morning because a series of overnight thunderstorms kept waking us up. Dot has always had a phobia of storms, but now she seems to have transferred her fears to Dash as well. Every time there was a loud thunderbolt or burst of wind, one of the dogs started barking. Usually just throwing a blanket over the dogs calms them down, but this was a bad storm. There was even hail pounding on the roof at some point.

The big overnight rain meant I had to spend some time on the roof this afternoon getting rid of the standing water. I need to go find a more powerful sump pump. When the pump was working correctly, I could clear the entire roof in about 20 minutes. Now, the pump is so anemic that it takes me over an hour to get the water off. The pump does a little of the work, but mostly it's just me and a big broom.

I tried to rearrange the office a bit this afternoon to make my camera gear more accessible. I figured that if my camera gear was easier for me to reach, I might take more pictures. The cameras are much easier to access now, but unfortunately there was a trade-off. Some of my shoes are stored so high up in bins on the wall that I need a stepladder to get them. So, why are my shoes stored in the office, you might ask? Well, there just isn't any room for them anywhere else.

It looks like a busy week ahead. Dot and Dash both have to go to the vet: Dot to get her teeth cleaned and Dash for his regular antigen shot. I need to go back to the Land Rover dealer to get them to turn the red "service engine" light off again too. That engine better not need service after spending a week in the shop recently. I can't forget that Wednesday is the annual Halloween party for the dog training class. Oh, and there's probably lots of website work to do too. There always is.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 676

I took a favorite old dog walking coat over to the neighborhood tailor today and asked them to put in a new zipper. They told me a new zipper would probably cost more than I paid for the coat. I thought for a minute and told them to put the zipper in anyway. I like the coat and there was nothing wrong with it except for the broken zipper. I used to repair and refurbish virtually everything I had, but it's getting harder to find good repair people these days. I think people are getting used to just throwing things away every three or four years. This premature obsolescence probably keeps the factories humming and is good for the economy, but I think it's kind of sad. Things acquire character over time and, given a choice, I'd much rather have something with a story behind it, than something that was made yesterday in China. At any rate, I'll have an old coat with a new zipper sometime next week.

After dropping the coat off at the tailor's, I picked up some prescriptions at the pharmacy, filled my tank up with gas and went to the grocery store. One of these Saturday's I'm going to do something different, but this week apparently wasn't the time. I did all my exercises today, but I have a feeling that this new routine isn't going to be easy to maintain. When I got up this morning, I felt like I had just traded my neck pain for aching shoulders. The exercises the physical therapist wants me to do aren't that strenuous, but I can certainly feel the burn. All these years, I thought I was in great shape from walking the dogs, but I really didn't have much upper body strength at all.

They're having a big regatta at the lake this weekend. A saw dozens of sailboats on the water when I was walking the dogs Friday and thought this would be a good opportunity to get some nice sailing pictures. The only things I've been photographing recently are Fall wildflowers. Apparently, the regatta folks haven't scheduled any races during the "golden hour" around sunset when the light is nice though. So far, I've only seen the boats around mid-morning when the light is hard and unflattering. You'd thing they could have planned a sunset race just for me. I guess I'll check again tomorrow.

I got the blog finished a little early tonight. This would be the perfect opportunity to do some more chores, but I think I'll just go to bed early.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 675

I took the loaner car back to the Land Rover dealer before breakfast this morning and picked up my Defender. After a week and a half in the shop, just about everything was fixed. Ironically, the red "service engine" light in the dash, which was what caused me to take the car in for service in the first place, was still lit when I drove away. Whenever I'm at the dealership, my recurring urge to get a new car reasserts itself. Usually, all I have to do is look at the sticker price on one of the new Land Rovers in the showroom, and my new car desires dissipate very quickly. I've had the Defender a long time and I wouldn't look forward to having a car payment again. My service guy says they're bringing the Defender 90 back to this country toward the end of 2012. Now, that would be tempting.

The dogs were a bit miffed that their morning walk was a little later than usual this morning. Jeez, it was only 9 AM and they were acting like I'd totally forgotten about them. I did make sure that they got walked before I ate breakfast myself, but they get upset if our little schedule is off by even fifteen minutes.

As you probably already guessed, I got off to a late start this morning. Luckily, there weren't any deadlines today, so it didn't really matter. After breakfast, I used what was left of the morning to re-install the correct version of Avid Media Composer and add the other application in the Production Suite as well. I've gotten so used to the ease of using the Apple App Store, that I'd forgotten how complicated it can be to install and authorize some of these video applications. A serial number is never enough with these old school apps. Most needed an authorization code as well and one even needed a dongle. Oh, well. At least I'll be ready now if that big video production job ever rolls into town.

I had my last physical therapy session today. I'm not completely mended yet, but I'm really pleased with what I've been able to accomplish during the last three weeks. Today they needed to do some strength measurements, so they would have something tangible to turn in to the insurance company for reimbursement. My neck moves more or less normally now. My shoulder muscles are a lot stronger too. What surprised me is how weak my left wrist is. This is the wrist where I still have Carpel Tunnel problems. As it turns out, this left wrist is less than half as strong as the right wrist. I think I'm going to be using my weights and resistance cords for a long time.

As I was leaving the physical therapy offices, one of the owners said they'd be talking to me again soon. They do want to do a series of informational videos for the clinic. This is really good news, since so far, November doesn't look very busy. Maybe I'll use the new Avid software to edit these videos. Chances are I'll still be using Final Cut Pro though. It usually takes me a while to get up to speed on new software.

We were going to have the dogs be Budweiser Dalmatians for Halloween. Unfortunately, the miniature Budweiser wagon we saw on eBay can't be shipped and must be picked up locally. So much for that idea. Without the wagon, Dot and Dash would just look like Dot and Dash.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 674

As we were walking towards a brushy area on our morning walk, the dogs and I encountered a woman with two dogs of her own who suggested we might ought to change course because she had just seen a Bobcat go into the brush. I've heard several neighbors tell me about Bobcats in the park, but I've never actually seen one. With two dogs who are always eager to chase anything, I didn't really want a close encounter with a Bobcat. We went around the brushy thicket instead of through it as we usually do. I suspect that that there really was a Bobcat in the brush, because as we were walking around the thicket, we encountered two rabbits who refused to move as we approached. Usually rabbits will quickly disappear into the vegetation whenever two Dalmatians approach. These bunnies didn't want to go anywhere near the thicket. They stayed perfectly still with their ears flattened as we passed them. I wish I could take the dogs to an "animals to avoid" class. First it was the coyotes. Then it was poisonous snakes. Now, I've got to add Bobcats to the list of critters to steer clear of.

When we returned home, I fixed myself a tasty omelet and watched the stock market act irrationally on TV while I ate breakfast. I could have watched the death of Muammar Gaddafi on another channel, but I'm really getting tired of hearing about strife and civil unrest. The market isn't very peaceful either, but I still find it interesting. Apple stock continues to drop after the company missed their quarterly numbers for the first time ever. Maybe it will drop low enough so I can eventually afford to buy it back again. Selling Apple earlier this year still has to be one of the dumbest investment decisions I've ever made.

Oh, well. I guess it's decisions like this that keep me working. I finished a writing assignment today and made my usual website updates. Towards the end of the day, I got a call from the Land Rover dealer saying my car was ready. Since I hadn't taken the dogs on their evening walk yet, I told them I'd pick the car up in the morning. Dinner had to be postponed a bit tonight because of an animal rescue meeting at 6 PM. I often don't go to these Thursday meetings because it's so hard to get out of the driveway during the evening rush hour. For some reason it seemed like I ought to go tonight though. By the time I got the trash out to the street for tomorrow's pickup, it was completely dark.

Just in case you were wondering, the furnace works great after it's inaugural run last night and the house is toasty warm.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 673

I think tonight might be the night we turn the furnace on again. Not only is it at least twenty degrees cooler than it was yesterday, it is also quite windy. It never got above 68 degrees in the house today, and I can already tell that it will be much colder tonight. Hopefully the furnace will light. Some years it starts normally and other years I have to call the furnace guys.

I didn't get as much done as I had hoped today. Much of my time was spent running errands and trying to resolve accounting problems. That's the trouble with running a very small business. I'd like to just concentrate on the creative part of the business and let everything else take care of itself, but unfortunately it never works out that way. I managed to get one website updated today and that was about it.

Physical therapy was at 3 PM today, instead of 4 PM like it is normally. That's one reason I didn't get as much work done as usual. I like the sessions at the end of the day a lot better. We did end up talking more about doing some educational videos for the clinic though, so that's a good thing. It would be nice if this whole experience led to some new projects for me as well as an end to my neck pain. The owners mentioned doing some testimonial videos when we talked on Monday. I'd certainly do a testimonial for these folks. It's amazing how much better I feel than when I started my therapy three weeks ago.

Training class seemed to take forever tonight, now that we are doing things in the dark again. The cold windy weather made most of the dogs frisky, but it just made our Dalmatians cold. It's time to look for their Winter coats again. Both of them are usually the first dogs in class to come to school wearing sweaters.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 672

I went to the dentist today. This visit was a lot easier than it was last year, when I finally broke my ten year dental hiatus to get a broken filling fixed. This year, the hygienist just cleaned my teeth, while the dentist explained to me why it was almost inevitable that at least one of my wisdom teeth will have to be pulled. The problem tooth is coming in a bit sideways and putting pressure on the tooth next to it. This is what caused my filling to break last year and it looks like the replacement filling is now being damaged by the same errant wisdom tooth. Knowing my aversion to dentistry, my dentist told me that I didn't need to make a decision immediately and suggested that I get a second opinion from a good oral surgeon. As much as I hate the idea, my dentist is probably right. I'm pretty sure that the tooth has to go.

A cold front blew through last night and it was quite a bit cooler this morning. I not only had to wear a jacket on our morning walk, I ended up wearing one on the evening walk as well. It won't be long before we'll have to turn the furnace on at night again. We've got the time change coming pretty soon too. I've noticed lately that it's still dark in the morning at 7 AM. That's fine by me. I'm not a morning person anyway and I'd much rather have darkness when I make the bed in the morning instead of when I walk the dogs in the evening. As soon as standard time returns, it's going to be difficult to get the dogs walked before the sun goes down.

I've started putting a photo from my portfolio on my Google+ page every day, mostly because I certainly don't have time to write anything on yet another social network. Today's photo received 27 +1s, which is almost as good as some of the famous photographers. I know I shouldn't care about such things, but it's real easy to get sucked in to all the Internet ranking systems. I've heard that some companies have even started to factor your Klout score into their hiring decisions. I wonder how someone who grew up with all this stuff feels? It would be a sad day if your self worth was determined by your Internet ranking.

Lil' Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 671

Life is certainly a long and winding road. Every time I start to feel like I've arrived at a destination, somebody moves the finish line. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get caught up with work, or feel financially secure, or get all my health issues resolved.

My only solution is to just keep moving. I'm renewing my efforts to find some new clients. Today, when I went to physical therapy, I took along my iPad and made a quick presentation to the owners about how they could use outdoor advertising and short videos to help market their business. I think presenting to people who already have to see you anyway is a great strategy. Making a cold call presentation these days is almost impossible.

There seemed to be quite a bit of interest in adding video demonstrations and testimonials to the existing physical therapy website. Will I get the job? Who knows. I think I've got a fair shot at it, but then again, the owners both have children in college who are majoring in marketing. It's hard to compete when the client's kids do the same thing as you do.

I discovered today that I installed the wrong version of Avid Media Composer on my computer. I installed v5.5.2 and I was supposed to install v5.5.3. Damn. Now I've got uninstall everything and start over. I'm trying to get my desktop computer ready to upgrade to the Lion OS, but there are so many conflicts and problems like this that it hardly seems worth the effort. Maybe I'll just keep using Snow Leopard forever.

I stopped by a sporting goods store and got some light free weights for my shoulder exercises on the way home from today's physical therapy session. As soon as I got home, Dash fished the weights out of my shopping bag and started running around the house with them. He thought they were dog toys.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 670

The day started with a big breakfast and ended with cheeseburgers. That's all I need. It's amazing how my appetite is returning, now that I'm feeling better. I must have been in a lot worse shape than I thought I was when we went to Las Vegas a month ago.

Now that things are getting back to normal, I'm starting to tackle the yard again on weekends. I trimmed more dead limbs off bushes and trees this afternoon and added them to the pile at the curb for big trash pickup. I was a little worried when I dragged the old mattress out to the street the other day that I'd gotten the pickup day wrong again, but I noticed other neighbors taking their trash to the street this afternoon. I must have gotten the date right after all.

After mowing the grass, I upgraded my iPad to iOS5. This seemed to go more smoothly than it did when I upgraded the iPhone yesterday. Maybe I just knew what to expect this time. Unfortunately, my desktop computer still can't access the iCloud yet, so all the automatic syncing features are kind of pointless. I still have to upgrade to my desktop computer to Lion before it even realizes that there is a cloud out there waiting to suck up all my information. I don't know why these inevitable upgrades have to be so complicated. I still need to check about 50 applications to make sure they're compatible with Lion, and even though iOS5 claims to have added over 200 new features, I'll probably never use 195 of them. All I want is for my regular work related applications to work flawlessly both before and after any upgrade, but unfortunately it's never quite that simple.

Just in case you were wondering, the dogs did get to go to the dog park this morning. Unless there's a tornado headed our way, or some other sort of disaster, they always get to go to the dog park on Sundays. Dot and Dash both had fun today. The weather was perfect and there were lots of playful dogs at the park. I had a pretty good day myself. I got a ton of work done today and my neck still feels fine. Things are looking up!

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day