Day 2126

I got up early without waking Janet and the dogs and quietly went outside with my Dad's old Carl Zeiss binoculars to look for Mercury. This was the perfect day to look for the illusive planet, because it was located right next to the thin crescent of the waning moon. The pre-dawn sky was clear and I was able to find the almost impossibly thin sliver of the moon about five degrees above the horizon. Sure enough, when I looked though the binoculars, there was Mercury, right where it was supposed to be. It was a nice way to start the day.

When I was at the gym later in the day, a loud announcement came over the PA system saying DISASTER - CODE WHITE IS NOW IN EFFECT. This message was repeated several times, but nobody paid any attention to it.  I think the message referred to a pediatric medical emergency, but it could just as easily have signaled the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. The odd thing to me was although the message was clearly a warning of some sort, nobody seemed to care. Eventually one old man asked if we should leave the building, but the people using the machines next to him just shrugged their shoulders and continued listening to whatever was being piped through their earbuds. Maybe this is why we end up being surprised so frequently. Nobody listens to warnings anymore.

Maybe I should replace my Watch of the Day feature with a Things That Broke Today feature. Yesterday two tape recorders bit the dust. Today it was a watch winder. I suspect that aging rubber parts contributed to today's mishap as well. Watch winders are simple mechanisms. They use a rotating drum to keep a self winding mechanical watch wound up and running while it is not on your wrist. This particular watch winder had been running continuously for over five years, but today a red fault light was illuminated and the motor wasn't turning. I wouldn't be surprised if a rubber drive belt was used to transfer the motion of the electric motor to the rotating drum that holds the watch. Rubber drive belts break easily. I wonder who repairs these things. One more thing to research tomorrow on Google.

I could make a long list of things that are on the verge of breaking. A large sliding glass door in our house is becoming very hard to open. I've already replaced the original nylon track rollers with solid steel rollers that were supposed to last forever. I guess in today's world, forever means seventeen years. The electric lawn mower makes a loud whining noise then I mow the grass now. Sounds like a bearing is starting to go out. The garbage disposal under the kitchen sink clogs a bit too easily and there is a section of the bedroom carpet that is looking really threadbare. Actually, probably everything in the house is on the verge of breaking.

Dash had a good day. He limped a little, but not nearly as bed as he did yesterday. He rested a lot today and we made sure that when he was active that he didn't race around at full speed and aggravate his injury. It's hard to tell a Dalmatian to take it easy, but that's what we're trying to do. Dot had a pretty good day too. There were no accidents in the house and she had lots of energy on her walks.

These weeks go by so quickly. When I was using the arm bicycle at the gym, and later when I was using the Dyson to clean rugs at the house, I kept thinking "Didn't I just do this a few minutes ago." Nope, that was last week. The days, and weeks, and months just blend together in a series of repetitive actions. Tomorrow there will be more of the same. I'll pop in the shower. I'll feed the dogs. I'll fix another peach and banana smoothie for breakfast. I doubt that I'll see Mercury again though.

Katy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day