Day 535

I got distracted today trying to repair the rubber case on a Suunto watch. These watches are little technological marvels with built in altimeters, barometers, compasses and GPS tracking. Unfortunately, this state-of-the-art technology comes in a cheesy rubber case that starts to fall apart the minute you begin wearing it. I've patched, glued and tried to repair my Suunto case so many times that it probably wouldn't be waterproof anymore if I sneezed. I don't know why so many manufacturers put absolutely amazing technology in cheap plastic cases. The Zoom video camera I got for my blogging stint in Houston was the same way. The camera itself was full of professional features and performed very well. The case, on the other hand, was absolute crap. If you even held the camera too tightly in your hand, you would break it. There are companies like Sound Devices that manage to but fabulous technology in rugged, durable cases, but you pay an arm and a leg for the extra protection. I guess cheap plastic cases are a strange thing to be whining about, but I hate the stuff. I think everything should be made out of titanium.

The post office lost another check that I've been waiting for. This is the third or fourth time this has happened. The check was mailed on May 24 from just across town, so I definitely should have received it by now. It is not uncommon for the mailman to drop one of my letters in the wrong mailbox. What is uncommon is for the people who actually received my mail to take the time to return it. I guess I understand, but it still is frustrating. Most mail is junk these days. If you don't recognize something right away, you probably just throw it away unopened. That's what I do anyway. I hope I haven't accidentally thrown away someone else's check.

I think Summer is officially here. The dogs don't want to walk anymore. They're OK on their morning walk as long as I get started early enough. The evening walk is a disaster though. Usually, before we even get halfway, one of the two dogs will dig in their heels and refuse to move an inch further. I'll try all the normal sit, stay, heal commands, but they usually won't do anything. At this point, there's only one thing the dogs want to hear. When I say "are you dogs ready to go home," they both turn in unison and start walking briskly back toward the house. I'm not looking forward to July. Texas Summers might be one of the few things I dislike more than cheap plastic cases.

I started looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend at some point during the day and then I realized that the holiday was last week.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day