Day 3128

I guess I don't watch local news enough. I just discovered today that the hazy skies we've been experiencing lately are caused by dust from the Sahara Desert. When I first noticed the haze, I thought something was wrong with my eyes. Then I thought there was a big forest fire somewhere. When I walked Dash in the morning it seemed like I was looking at the world through a pair of dirty reading glasses. I use this analogy because I often have the same hazy view when I look at my computer screen. I need to clean my glasses more often. How could a cloud of dust travel 5000 miles and then just stop when it arrived in Texas? I hope the weather changes and the cloud starts to blow westward again. They say the dust contains diatomaceous earth. Not good. Silica is not very healthy for dogs or people to breathe.

No roofers today. Honestly, I don't blame them for not showing up. It is beastly hot. In some parts of town the temperature hovered around 110 degrees. The only way the roofers could work comfortably would be to get started very early and leave before 10 AM. It's not going to get any cooler tomorrow, so we'll have to see what happens. I'd really like to get this roof fixed, but you could fry an egg on it right now.

Dash got cheated out of his morning walk. We were doing just fine until he saw a loose dog. The dog was well behaved and was sitting next to his owner at a picnic table near the lake, but I couldn't convince Dash that everything was OK. He is terrified of unleashed dogs. The dog was at least fifty yards away when he spotted it, but that was enough. He immediately turned around and headed for home.

A small business I used to work with recently became part of a large national chain. The website they replaced mine with didn't even last a year. Now, there's a third design that follows the corporate style manual. It must be getting harder and harder for a small business to thrive. I see so many places either go out of business or sell to someone larger. It's a shame. I almost always like the small businesses better. Camera stores, veterinarians, ad agencies, hobby shops, and plumbers are all forced to grow or die. My own business probably died because I chose not to grow at a critical point in time. It's OK though. I had some very good years and I could never work for someone else.

I must spend more time outdoors than I realize. When the weather becomes oppressively hot, I start to get cabin fever. Dash sleeps all day. I can't stand what's on daytime TV. And cleaning the house gets old pretty fast. What's a guy to do? I guess I never realized how much time I used to spent working. It's basically always been boring around the house, but I had so many deadlines to meet, I never noticed.

I wonder what happens when my downsizing quest is complete. Will life be any different when the storage warehouse is empty and the house is tidy again? Probably not.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day