Monday, December 5, 2011

Day 720

It rained again last night. I'm getting so tired of removing water and leaves from the roof. As soon as I've got things looking nice, the wind and rain begins again, and I've got to start over. The roof is so old that there are probably hundreds of tiny cracks where water can seep in after a big rainstorm. When you've got water on a flat roof, gravity always wins. I need an entirely new roof, but I can't really afford one. Even if I could, I'm not sure I could find anyone who would do a good job. Commercial roofers who know how to do flat roofs properly don't like to do residential jobs. Residential roofers who claim to be flat roof experts usually aren't telling the truth. Even some architect friends of mine have had problems finding really good roofing contractors. For now, I'll just continue sweeping the water off.

I got a new assignment to write a magazine article about the oil and gas industry. I'm supposed to do interviews in Houston next week. The magazine wants me to take video of the interviews as well. I guess the latest thing in magazines is to offer a companion iPad app that provides augmented coverage in the form of audio and video files with each issue. The article is fairly long by my standards, but writing it will provide a nice change of pace from the daily marathon of watch articles and website updates I've been doing recently.

I guess the weather forecasts were right. It's really getting cold outside. I wouldn't be surprised if it got down to freezing by morning. There have been strong winds as the cold front moves through and this makes it seem even colder. At least I won't have to worry about ice on the roof. I got as much water off today as my tired bones would allow. Like it or not, I think it's time for the dogs to start wearing their Winter coats. Dalmatians don't have much fur. I keep telling them it's much better to look like a wimp than freeze.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day